Libby Purves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Libby Purves (born February 2, 1950 in London, England) is a radio presenter, journalist and author. A diplomat's daughter, she was educated at convent schools in Bangkok (Thailand), South Africa and France, and then The Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells. She won a scholarship to St Anne's College, Oxford where she obtained a first-class honours degree and rose to the rank of Librarian (Vice President) of the Oxford Union. In 1971, she joined the BBC as a studio manager. In 1976, at the age of 28, she joined Brian Redhead on the BBC's Today programme, becoming the show's first woman presenter. She currently presents Midweek on BBC Radio 4.
She has written a series of books on childcare, ten well-regarded novels, and a travel book, One Summer's Grace, about a 1700-mile sailing journey round Britain with children aged three and five.
Libby also writes a column for The Times newspaper.
She is married to Paul Heiney. They have one living child, Rose Heiney, also an occasional columnist for The Times newspaper. Their eldest child, Nicholas, died on 26th June 2006, at the age of 23. He hanged himself in the family home after a struggle with depression.
