Kathy Lette
Kathryn Marie Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian-British author whose works have been best-sellers.
Kathy Lette | |
|---|---|
Lette at the British Library in 2022 | |
| Born | 11 November 1958 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Author |
| Years active | 1979 – present |
| Spouse(s) | (divorced) (separated)[2] |
| Children | Julius Robertson Georgina Robertson |
| Website | kathylette.com Management |
Early life
Lette was born on 11 November 1958 in Sydney's southern suburbs.
She appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald of 20 August 1978 pictured in Martin Place with her friend Gabrielle Carey in an article titled "Buskers Lose Freak Tag".[3] They were standing up for buskers' rights not to be moved on as Sydney City Council enforced a 1919 Act of Parliament in New South Wales.
Career
Lette first attracted attention in 1979 as the co-author (with Gabrielle Carey) of Puberty Blues, a strongly autobiographical, proto-feminist teen novel about two 13-year-old southern suburbs girls attempting to improve their social status by ingratiating themselves with the "Greenhills gang" of surfers. The book was made into a film in 1981 and a TV series in 2012.
She subsequently became a newspaper columnist and sitcom writer, but returned to the novel form with Girls' Night Out in 1988 and has since written several more novels and plays, including Foetal Attraction in 1993, Mad Cows in 1996 (which was made into a film starring Joanna Lumley and Anna Friel) and Dead Sexy.[4]
She left Australia for the United Kingdom in 1988 and took full British citizenship in 2011.[5][6]
In 2007, she published the book How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)[7] which was turned into an opera in 2011 by composer Alan John and playwright Timothy Daly; it was premiered at the Victorian Opera, conducted by Richard Gill.[8] The same year, she briefly appeared on Sunrise as a London correspondent, a part of the Global Notebook. In 2008, Lette published To Love, Honour & Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part), a romantic novel with hints of comedy.
With Jessica Adams, Maggie Alderson and Imogen Edwards-Jones, Lette edited an anthology by prominent women writers of erotic short-stories, In Bed with... (2009), including contributions from Louise Doughty, Esther Freud, Ali Smith, Joan Smith, Rachel Johnson and Fay Weldon, each publishing under a pseudonym.
In April 2009, she contributed to the fourth issue of the literary magazine Notes from the Underground with a piece honouring her close friend John Mortimer. In November 2009, she received an honorary doctorate from Southampton Solent University.[9][10]
She teamed with Radox to write a water-resistant book, which was released free online in September 2009, with an aim to encourage women to be selfish with their time.
Recognition
In recognition of her many novels and advocacy of equality, human rights, and physical and mental health both nationally and internationally, Lette was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University of Wollongong on 20 April 2017.[11]
Personal life
Lette lives in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden.[12] She has two children (Julius and Georgina) with fellow Australian expatriate, Geoffrey Robertson,[2] whom she met while still married to Kim Williams, when appearing on Robertson's TV panel debate show Hypotheticals. Julius (known as Jules) has Asperger syndrome: he has embarked on a career as an actor, and plays the character of Jason Haynes in Holby City.[13][14] Lette and Robertson separated in 2017.
She supports the UK Labour Party.[15] In August 2014, she was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[16]
Books
Novels
- Puberty Blues (1979, with Gabrielle Carey)
- Girls' Night Out (1988)
- The Llama Parlour (1992)
- Foetal Attraction (1993)
- Mad Cows (1996)
- Altar Ego (1998)
- Nip 'n' Tuck (2001)
- Dead Sexy (2005)
- How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints) (2006)
- To Love Honour and Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part) (2008)
- The Boy Who Fell to Earth (2012)
- Love is Blind (2013)
- Courting Trouble (2014)
- Best Laid Plans (2017)
- HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy (2020)
Other
- Men: a User's Guide (2010) (humour)
References
- ^ . Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Kathy Lette confirms split from husband Geoffrey Robertson". news.com.au. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- ^ "Buskers Lose Freak Tag" by Nancy Berryman, The Sydney Morning Herald (20 August 1978)
- ^ "Kathy Lette Short Biography".
- ^ Ryan, Rosanna (10 July 2015). "The year that made me: Kathy Lette on moving to England". Abc. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ Author Kathy Lette on her way to becoming a full British citizen 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Camden New Journal, 3 February 2011
- ^ How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints) by Kathy Lette, Simon & Schuster 2007, ISBN 978-0-7434-6876-3
- ^ . Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "Honorary degree for Kathy Lette", The Sydney Morning Herald (7 November 2009)
- ^ "Crème de la crim" by Kathy Lette, The Australian (10 March 2010)
- ^ "Honorary Doctor of Letters citation" by Paul Wellings, University of Wollongong, 20 April 2017
- ^ "#MakeYourMark: Our campaign to register 17,000 missing voters in Hampstead and Kilburn", by Tim Lamden, Ham & High, 2 April 2015
- ^ Kathy Lette: My autistic son beat the school bullies and now he's on Holby City, Daily Mirror, 31 March 2016
- ^ Braithwaite, Alyssa (27 June 2016). "Kathy Lette desperately wants you to know her autistic son". sbs.com.au. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Parties in pre-election battle to sign up stars" by Vanessa Thorpe, The Observer (14 February 2010)
- ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. London. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
External links
- Official website
- Kathy Lette at IMDb