Steve Shirley

Dame Vera Stephanie "Steve" Shirley  (née Buchthal; 16 September 1933 – 9 August 2025) was a German-born British technology businesswoman and philanthropist. She founded the Shirley Foundation in 1996. 

From May 2009 until May 2010, Shirley was the UK's Ambassador for Philanthropy. In 2012, Shirley donated the entirety of her art collection, including works by Elisabeth Frink, Maggi Hambling, Thomas Heatherwick, Josef Herman and John Piper to Prior's Court School and the charity Paintings in Hospitals.

Shirley died from a short illness on 9 August 2025, at the age of 91.

References

Other websites

 Listen to an oral history interview with Dame Stephanie Shirley – a life story interview recorded for the National Life Stories project Oral History of British Science at the British Library
 IEEE oral history
 "Why do ambitious women have flat heads?" (TED2015)

Category:1933 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Category:British philanthropists
Category:German philanthropists
Category:German businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from London