Louise Bagshawe

Bagshawe was born in London in 1971; her family moved to the country when she was seven. After being educated at Woldingham School, a Catholic girls' boarding school in Surrey, she was named 'Young Poet of the Year' in 1989 at the age of 18. She studied English literature at Christ Church, Oxford. After a period in the music industry, she became an author specialising in the "chick lit" genre aimed at young women. Her first novel, Career Girls, was published in 1995. Her latest novel 'Passion' will be released in May 2009 in the UK.

Alongside her other activities, Bagshawe became a political activist. At the age of fourteen she joined the Conservative Party, after being inspired by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.In 1996, however, she briefly switched to Tony Blair's Labour Party believing him to be "socially liberal but an economic Tory".By 1997 she had returned to the Conservatives and helped her mother, Daphne, win a seat in East Sussex County Council from the Liberal Democrats. In 2001, Louise co-founded the Oxonian Society with Joseph Pascal and Badiya bint El Hassan.

Bagshawe was placed on the A List of Conservative candidates for the next general election. This move was criticised by some as favouring minor celebrities, such as Bagshawe, over local candidates when selecting who to stand in constituencies.In October 2006 she was selected to stand in Corby.

She is involved with charities which support the homeless, child welfare and victims of HIV and AIDS. Bagshawe is a primary school governor and has been involved in hospital and hospice fundraising. With other bestselling authors she has supported War Child, a charity which provides relief for orphaned victims of the conflict in Bosnia.

Bagshawe is married to Anthony LoCicero and has three children.[1] She is the sister of Tilly Bagshawe, a freelance journalist who published Adored in July 2005