Note that there was until recently another British life peer with a similar title, Janet Young, Baroness Young

Janet Young, Baroness Young

Janet Mary Baker Young, Baroness Young PC , was a British Conservative politician. She served as the first ever female Leader of the House of Lords from 1981 to 1983, first as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1982 as Lord Privy Seal...

; there is also Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone

Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone

Barbara Scott Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone sits on the cross benches in the House of Lords. She was created a life peer in 1997 as Baroness Young of Old Scone, of Old Scone in Perth and Kinross....

.

Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey, OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born Margaret Omolola Young, 1 June 1951) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 artist, author, and Crossbench peer.

Young was educated at the Parliament Hill School for Girls

Parliament Hill School

Parliament Hill School for girls is a specialist technology college in the Borough of Camden in London, England.-Present day:It has Investors in People accreditation and participates in the London Excellence in Work Experience Scheme. Located on the edge of Hampstead Heath it has added two new...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and went then to the New College of Speech and Drama, where she received a diploma

Diploma

A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...

 in dramatic art in 1975, and a teaching certificate

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 one year later. In 1988 she graduated from Middlesex Polytechnic

Middlesex University

Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...

 with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Contemporary Cultural Studies.

Young worked as a professional actress from 1976 to 1984, and had been a residential social worker in the London Borough of Islington

London Borough of Islington

The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...

 from 1971 to 1973. Her most prominent role as an actress was in children's sitcom Metal Mickey

Metal Mickey

thumb|Metal Mickey, a robot character on UK children's television in the 1980sMetal Mickey was a five-foot-tall fictional robot, which was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. A modernised vision of a 1950s space toy, Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV...

which ran from 1980 - 1983. In 1985, she became co-director and training and development manager at the Haringey Arts Council, a post she held until 1989.

From 1990 to 1992, Young was lecturer

Lecturer

Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

 in media studies

Media studies

Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...

 at the Polytechnic of West London. In the following she was lecturer, senior lecturer

Senior lecturer

Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. Especially in research-intensive universities, lecturers lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

, principal lecturer, Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of cultural studies

Cultural studies

Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...

 and in the end Emeritus professor at the Middlesex University

Middlesex University

Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...

. In 1995 she published Fear of the Dark: Race, Gender and Sexuality in Cinema.

Young became Project director of the Archives and Museum of Black Heritage in 1997, she was Commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

 in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts , a UK body, was established in 1869 "to make enquiry as to the places where manuscripts and private papers of historical interest were located and to report on their contents"....

 in the years 2000 and 2001, and Chair at the Nitro Theatre Company in 2004.

From 2001 to 2004 she was head of culture at the Greater London Authority, following which she was created a life peer

Life peer

In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

 as Baroness Young of Hornsey, of Hornsey in the London Borough of Haringey

London Borough of Haringey

The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...

.

Other public appointments have included English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

’s Blue Plaques Committee, membership of the board of the Royal National Theatre

Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

, the South Bank Centre

South Bank Centre

Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracts more than three million visitors annually...

, and the board of Governors of Middlesex University

Middlesex University

Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...

, chairing the Arts Council

Arts council

An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...

’s Cultural Diversity Panel, and membership of the board of Resource, the Council of Museums, Archives and Libraries, and a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts , a UK body, was established in 1869 "to make enquiry as to the places where manuscripts and private papers of historical interest were located and to report on their contents"....

. She has also chaired the judging panel of the Orange Prize for Fiction

Orange Prize for Fiction

The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...

.

Lady Young of Hornsey has been married to Barrie Birch since 1984; they have one son.