Liz Jones
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Ann Jones, known as Liz Jones (born 5 September 1958), is a British journalist and writer.
She originally followed a career in fashion journalism, but her work has broadened into confessional writing. Jones divides opinion. While she has gained positive responses, a "beautifully natural writer, as well as a funny one" according to Deborah Ross in The Independent, some of her articles have also received fierce criticism.
A former editor of Marie Claire
, she has been on the staff of The Sunday Times
and the Evening Standard
. Jones currently writes columns for the Daily Mail
and the The Mail on Sunday
.
and studied journalism at the London College of Printing
.
After leaving college, she began to work for Company
magazine in 1981, initially as a sub-editor, eventually becoming a staff writer before leaving to go freelance in 1986. In 1989 she began an 11-year stint at The Sunday Times
magazine, becoming deputy editor of their "Style" magazine in 1998.
In April 1999, Jones was appointed editor of Marie Claire
UK magazine. An announcement by Jones during June 2000 that the leading fashion magazines were setting up a self-regulatory body concerning the size of models was "contradicted" by the editors of rival magazines. Faced by a declining circulation, she was sacked from this post two years later for refusing to use bulimic models and (according to Jones) listing in the magazine the freebies she had been offered in the previous month. During this period she met journalist Nirpal Dhaliwal
, sent by BBC Radio in 2000 to interview her, and embarked on a seven year relationship with him; their "disastrous" four year marriage ended in 2007. Wanting to become pregnant while with an earlier partner, she has written: "I resolved to steal his sperm from him in the middle of the night. I thought it was my right, given that he was living with me and I had bought him many, many M&S [Marks & Spencer] ready meals."
In 2002 she became Life & Style editor at the London Evening Standard
, leaving to join the Daily Mail
as Style editor in early 2006. According to Jones she is disliked by the fashion industry: "The fashion industry stinks and everyone in fashion hates me. No one talks to me when I go to the shows. I'm barred from a lot of shows now. I've been barred from Armani, Louis Vuitton
, Chloe, Chanel
, Marc Jacobs
, Victoria Beckham
..." She also writes for British Airways
' High Life magazine on destinations and hotels.
Jones has been described by Deborah Orr
as a "very gifted writer and apparently very flaky human being". Often considered somewhat self-obsessed, with the veracity of her confessions questioned, she has been defended by Tanya Gold
who wrote: "There are many confessional journalists in Britain, but none as forensic or as self-critical as Jones". She has reported from Bangladesh, and was sent by her newspaper to cover the famine in Somalia in the summer of 2011; her suitability for this assignment was questioned by Ros Coward
.
Jones now lives in Brushford
, just south of Dulverton
, Somerset
. Her comments about the area and in the book The Exmoor Files angered local people. The journalist Jane Alexander thought Jones opinions were "a clichéd, stereotypical and, frankly, lazy image of the countryside."
Jones has written about an alleged current love interest, the Rock Star (RS), in her weekly diary in the Mail on Sundays "You" magazine. Despite dropping many heavy hints that the 'rock star' was Jim Kerr of Simple Minds
, in a November 2011 interview in the Evening Standard, she finally admitted it is not Kerr.
Jones has been vegetarian since the age of twelve. Her frequent claims to be a vegan are refuted by her eating eggs and other dairy products, and her continued espousal of the use of leather in fashion.
She originally followed a career in fashion journalism, but her work has broadened into confessional writing. Jones divides opinion. While she has gained positive responses, a "beautifully natural writer, as well as a funny one" according to Deborah Ross in The Independent, some of her articles have also received fierce criticism.
A former editor of Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, she has been on the staff of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
. Jones currently writes columns for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and the The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
.
Life and career
An anorexic since she was about 11, Jones was raised in Essex, the daughter of an army father and a former ballerina, and the youngest of seven children (her siblings are Claire, Philip, Nick (1949-2011), Lynnie, Tony & Sue). Jones attended Brentwood County High School for GirlsBrentwood County High School
Brentwood County High School is a secondary school located in the South-East of England in Brentwood, Essex...
and studied journalism at the London College of Printing
London College of Communication
The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, located in Elephant and Castle. It has about 5,000 students on 60 courses in media and design courses preparing students for careers in the creative industries...
.
After leaving college, she began to work for Company
Company (magazine)
Company magazine is a monthly fashion, celebrity and lifestyle magazine published in the United Kingdom.It celebrated its 30th birthday in 2008, and in that time has had only six editors: Maggie Goodman, Gil Hudson, Mandi Norwood, Fiona Macintosh, Sam Baker, and the current editor - Victoria...
magazine in 1981, initially as a sub-editor, eventually becoming a staff writer before leaving to go freelance in 1986. In 1989 she began an 11-year stint at The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
magazine, becoming deputy editor of their "Style" magazine in 1998.
In April 1999, Jones was appointed editor of Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
UK magazine. An announcement by Jones during June 2000 that the leading fashion magazines were setting up a self-regulatory body concerning the size of models was "contradicted" by the editors of rival magazines. Faced by a declining circulation, she was sacked from this post two years later for refusing to use bulimic models and (according to Jones) listing in the magazine the freebies she had been offered in the previous month. During this period she met journalist Nirpal Dhaliwal
Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal
Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal is a British journalist and writer.His parents were first-generation Punjabi immigrants. Dhaliwal was raised a non-practising Sikh and state-school educated before going on to Nottingham University to read English and American literature...
, sent by BBC Radio in 2000 to interview her, and embarked on a seven year relationship with him; their "disastrous" four year marriage ended in 2007. Wanting to become pregnant while with an earlier partner, she has written: "I resolved to steal his sperm from him in the middle of the night. I thought it was my right, given that he was living with me and I had bought him many, many M&S [Marks & Spencer] ready meals."
In 2002 she became Life & Style editor at the London Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, leaving to join the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
as Style editor in early 2006. According to Jones she is disliked by the fashion industry: "The fashion industry stinks and everyone in fashion hates me. No one talks to me when I go to the shows. I'm barred from a lot of shows now. I've been barred from Armani, Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Chloe, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...
, Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops...
..." She also writes for British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
' High Life magazine on destinations and hotels.
Jones has been described by Deborah Orr
Deborah Orr
Deborah Jane Orr is a British journalist and broadcaster who works for The Guardian newspaper. She was born and raised in Motherwell, Scotland.-Career:...
as a "very gifted writer and apparently very flaky human being". Often considered somewhat self-obsessed, with the veracity of her confessions questioned, she has been defended by Tanya Gold
Tanya Gold
Tanya Gold is a British journalist. She has written for a variety of newspapers in the United Kingdom, including The Guardian, the Daily Mail, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard. In 2009 she was highly commended in the Feature Writer of the Year category at the British...
who wrote: "There are many confessional journalists in Britain, but none as forensic or as self-critical as Jones". She has reported from Bangladesh, and was sent by her newspaper to cover the famine in Somalia in the summer of 2011; her suitability for this assignment was questioned by Ros Coward
Rosalind Coward
Rosalind Coward is a British academic, journalist and writer.She has been a columnist for The Guardian from 1992 and was previously a regular contributor to The Observer and Marxism Today. She wrote a regular column for The Guardians Comment pages between 1995 and 2004...
.
Jones now lives in Brushford
Brushford, Somerset
Brushford is a village and civil parish south of Dulverton and north of Tiverton in Devon, in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 535 in 243 households...
, just south of Dulverton
Dulverton
Dulverton is a town and civil parish in the heart of West Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town has a population of 1,630. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately north west of Dulverton...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. Her comments about the area and in the book The Exmoor Files angered local people. The journalist Jane Alexander thought Jones opinions were "a clichéd, stereotypical and, frankly, lazy image of the countryside."
Jones has written about an alleged current love interest, the Rock Star (RS), in her weekly diary in the Mail on Sundays "You" magazine. Despite dropping many heavy hints that the 'rock star' was Jim Kerr of Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
, in a November 2011 interview in the Evening Standard, she finally admitted it is not Kerr.
Jones has been vegetarian since the age of twelve. Her frequent claims to be a vegan are refuted by her eating eggs and other dairy products, and her continued espousal of the use of leather in fashion.
External links
- Articles by Liz Jones from the Mail Online.