Shirley Conran is the ex-wife of British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer Sir Terence Conran. She is the mother of designers Sebastian Conran and Jasper Conran. A bestselling author in her own right whose most memorable books include Lace and Superwoman.

She was educated at the University of Portsmouth. In addition to novel writing, she wrote regularly for The Observer newspapers womens page and was the first womens editor of The Observer Colour Magazine and womens editor of The Daily Mail newspaper where she launched the weekly womens magazine Femail. She also has great experience as a designer in textiles and as a colour consultant - she had her own paint range. She handled the publicity for the Women in Media Campaign devoted to sex discrimination legislation. She was on the selection committee of the Council of Industrial Design for eight years. She also has been a columnist for Vanity Fair (magazine).

Shirley Conran is well known for having said: First things first, second things never.

She was successfully treated for skin cancer several years ago.

She has homes in France and London.