Former actor, professor of Cultural Studies, and Head of Culture at the Greater London Authority, Baroness Lola Young has written and broadcast extensively on a wide range of cultural issues. She has served on the Boards of several national cultural organisations including the National Theatre and the Southbank Centre, as well serving as a Commisioner for Historic England. Baroness Young has Chaired the Caine Prize for African writing, the Orange Prize for Women’s Fiction, and the Man Booker Prize.

Awarded an OBE for services to Black British History in 2001, in 2004 Lola was appointed an independent Crossbench member of the House of Lords where she has worked on legislation to eliminate modern slavery, founded and Co-Chaired All Party Parliamentary Groups on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, and Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights. Recognition of her work includes lifetime achievement awards for services to the promotion of racial equality, and services to the archival sector; Drapers’ Sustainability Champion 2022, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Sussex, Middlesex and Nottingham, and the London College of Fashion. Lola is currently Co-Chair of the Foundation for Future London, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. Lola’s memoir, ‘8 Weeks: Looking Back, Moving Forwards, Defying the Odds’ was published in November 2024.