Catherine Mayer
Catherine Mayer (born 24 January 1961) is an American-born British author and journalist, and the co-founder and President of the Women's Equality Party (WE) in the UK. Early life. Mayer was born in the US and later became naturalised as British. Mayer moved to Britain as a child when her father, theatre historian David Mayer, came to research a book and later secured tenure at Manchester University teaching Ben Elton and Rik Mayall. Her mother, Anne Mayer Bird, is prominent within theatre PR. Mayer attended Manchester High School for Girls, and studied English Literature and  European Studies at the University of Sussex (1978–82). One of her sisters is "The Young Ones" co-writer (with Mayall) Lise Mayer, another is the theatre agent Cassie Mayer. Career. Mayer started her career at "The Economist" and has worked as a foreign correspondent at the German news weekly "Focus". In 2011 Mayer wrote "Amortality: The Pleasures and Perils of Living Agelessly" about the pros and cons of people living longer. Her 2015 biography of Prince Charles, published as, "Charles: The Heart of a King", published in the US as "Born to Be King", generated worldwide headlines with its claims  of dysfunction in the royal courts. Clarence House, which had facilitated access to the Prince, distanced itself from the book. Mayer stood by the content. The book was a "Sunday Times" Top Ten bestseller. Mayer's non-fiction, "Attack of the 50ft. Women", was published in 2017. The book covers the benefits of gender equality and how it is being promoted in various countries, and has been described as "a compelling feminist call to arms". Her memoir "Good Grief", which incorporates letters written by her mother and covers the death of both women's husbands and the coronavirus pandemic , was published by Harper Collins in December 2020, with an updated paperback edition scheduled for February 2022. Women's Equality Party. Mayer co-founded the Women's Equality Party with Sandi Toksvig in March 2015 and is its President. The party has core objectives: equal representation, equal pay, equality in and through the media, equal education, equal health, shared opportunities in parenting and caregiving and an end to violence against women; its first policy commitments were launched by the party's first leader, Sophie Walker, at Conway Hall on 20 October 2015. In February 2018 Mayer stated: "The party also  welcomed all genders. Everyone is born with a sex, usually, though not always, male or female. Gender is the product of social and cultural factors that can be changed. The very first policy document made clear that WE supported “the right of all to define their sex or gender or to reject gendered divisions as they choose." The party won its first seat in the local elections in May 2019. Mayer stood as the lead candidate for the party in the 2019 European Elections in London. Primadonna Festival. Mayer co-founded the Primadonna Festival in 2019, a festival of ideas , writing, music and comedy at Laffitt's Hall in Pettaugh, Suffolk, aiming to give prominence to women and to new voices. Personal life. Mayer was married to the musician Andy Gill of Gang of Four, from 1999 until his death in February 2020.