Northants, Leics &amp; Rutland


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parminder-nagra-actress">Parminder Nagra, Actress</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/parminder-nagra-1.jpeg" alt="Parminder Nagra Leucester" class="wp-image-43344" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/parminder-nagra-1.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/parminder-nagra-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/parminder-nagra-1-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Born in Leicester, you might know Parminder best for her roles as Jess in <em>Bend It Like Beckham</em> and Dr. Neela in <em>ER</em>, she can definitely claim joint responsibility (alongside co-star Keira Knightley) for turning a generation of girls on to football. One of our top Leicestershire role models for sure.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dame-pat-mcgrath-make-up-artist">Dame Pat McGrath, Make-Up Artist</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1199" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/pat-mcgrath-1.jpeg" alt="Pat McGrath Make-up Artist Northampton" class="wp-image-43348" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/pat-mcgrath-1.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/pat-mcgrath-1-250x300.jpeg 250w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/pat-mcgrath-1-854x1024.jpeg 854w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/03/pat-mcgrath-1-768x921.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>A creative force of nature and arguably one of the most influential make-up artist in the world, Dame Patricia, who hails from Northampton and studied Art at what is now the Uni of Northampton, has been listed at one of Time magazine&#8217;s top 100 most influential people. She worked closely with the now outgoing Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful at i-D magazine in the 90s and, in 2015, launched her own beauty line, Pat McGrath Labs, now a billion dollar company. A Northants girl done good. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Charlotte Worthington MBE, Olympic Cyclist</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/charlotte-worthington-IWD.jpg" alt="CHARLOTTE WORTHINGTON inTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY NORTHANTS CORBY ADRENALINE ALLEY" class="wp-image-38385" /></figure>



<p>27 year old Charlotte is a cyclist and Olympic gold medallist in&nbsp;Freestyle BMX. 2019 saw her win the inaugural British and European titles and she went on to take gold in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. On her second run she became the first woman in history to land a 360-degree backflip in competition. She lives and trains full-time in&nbsp;Corby, which is home to the Adrenaline Alley, the biggest skate park in Europe. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.jowhiley.live/">Jo Whiley,</a> DJ, Presenter and  Mencap Ambassador</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/JO-WHILEY-IWD.jpeg" alt="Jo Whiley International Women's Day Northants" class="wp-image-38351" /></figure>



<p>Always our number one reason to tune into Glasto or Chelsea, with her superb sense of style and knowledge of everything cool. Jo lives near Towcester, having attended Campion school in Bugbrooke and swum competitively for Northants in her youth and now brings musical joy to the world through her 90s Anthems tour. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Baroness Manningham-Buller, former Director General of M15</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Eliza-Manningham-Buller-IWD.jpg" alt="Eliza Manningham Buller International Women's Day Northants Northampton" class="wp-image-38353" /></figure>



<p>Chair of the Wellcome Trust, Eliza, an alumna of Northampton High School, is quite a lot to live up to. She&#8217;s supposedly the inspiration for Judi Dench&#8217;s M in the Bond films and we&#8217;re getting some serious Fiona Shaw in <em>Killing Eve</em> vibes. Her achievements and accolades are pretty intimidating to most mere mortals and, following her retirement from MI5 in 2007, she&#8217;s now a cross bench life peer in the House of Lords. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Chantelle Cameron, World Champion Boxer</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Chantelle-Cameron-IWD-.jpg" alt="Chantelle Cameron International Women's Day Northampton" class="wp-image-38394" /></figure>



<p>Born and brought up in Northampton, the thirty two year old boss of the boxing ring is World Champion in two weight classes and the current undisputed light-welterweight champion. That&#8217;s kind of a big deal and, we have to admit, she&#8217;s way braver than we are and rocks some pretty epic accessories to boot. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.motherpukka.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anna Whitehouse</a>, Radio Presenter, Writer and Founder of Flex Appeal</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Anna-Whitehouse-IWD.jpg" alt="Anna Whitehouse Mother Pukka Flex Appeal Northampton" class="wp-image-38360" /></figure>



<p>Anna, aka Mother Pukka, also attended Northampton High School (I see a theme developing here) and is the best-selling author of&nbsp;<em>Parenting the Sh*t out&nbsp;of Life, Where’s My Happy Ending?</em>, and&nbsp;<em>Underbelly</em>. She&#8217;s also the campaigner behind the Flex Appeal movement, the&nbsp;premise of which helped form the powerhouse Flex For All Campaign recently&nbsp;addressed in parliament.&nbsp;She&#8217;s also a columnist for&nbsp;<em>Grazia</em> and hosts her own Sunday night show on Heart Radio. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.annefine.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anne Fine</a> OBE, Writer</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Anne-Fine-IWD.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-38356" /></figure>



<p>If you&#8217;ve never read a book by Anne Fine, who attended Northampton High School (and you definitely should), you&#8217;ll almost certainly have seen Robin Williams strutting about on screen in his brilliant role as Mrs Doubtfire, based on Fine&#8217;s <em>Madame Doubtfire</em>. Fine has penned more than seventy children&#8217;s books, won countless awards for her writing and was the second ever Children&#8217;s Laureate. She supports the Let Books Be Books campaign to encourage publishers to drop gendered titles for children.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.tracynorthampton.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tracy, Lady Northampton</a>, Yoga Teacher and Psychotherapist </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Tracy-Northampton-IWD-.jpg" alt="Tracy Lady Northampton International Women's Day" class="wp-image-38371" /></figure>



<p>Tracy (aka Lady N) married into the aristocracy but has a serious work ethic and, alongside husband Spencer Compton, Earl of Northampton, is dedicated to creating positive spaces, both physically and spiritually, through her yoga and psychotherapy practise and through the stunning renovation of their award winning boutique hotel The Falcon in Castle Ashby, which is focused on wellbeing through connection to nature. Tracy is also Patron of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation and Governor of St Andrew&#8217;s Healthcare. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://jowoodorganics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jo Wood</a>, Model, Photographer and Entrepreneur</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Jo-Wood-Iwd.jpg" alt="Jo Wood International Women's Day Northants" class="wp-image-38380" /></figure>



<p>Rock icon and organic lifestyle devotee, Jo went off grid when she moved into her Northamptonshire ironstone farmhouse, where she takes water from a borehole and electricity from solar panels. Wood, who used to be married to Rolling Stone Ronnie before the pair divorced in 2009, is CEO of the beauty range Jo Wood Organics. Jo is passionate about making positive change, working as an Ambassador for The Healthy Life Foundation and supporting Project Zero, an organisation which works to save the oceans founded by her son Tyrone, as well has having been a judge for the People’s Environment Awards for nearly ten years. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ellie Robinson MBE, Paralympic Swimmer</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Ellie-Robsinson-IWD.jpeg" alt="Ellie Robinson MBE Northants International Women's Day" class="wp-image-38387" /></figure>



<p>Another Northampton High and Northampton Swimming Club alumna, Ellie holds the World record and the Paralympic record in the S6 50m&nbsp;butterfly&nbsp;and the World record in the 100m, setting both at the age of just 13. She went on to take gold in the women&#8217;s S6 50m butterfly event and bronze in the women&#8217;s S6 100m freestyle event at Rio Paralympics in 2016. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://claudiaschiffer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Claudia Schiffer</a>, Model and UNICEF Ambassador</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Claudia-Schiffer-IWD.jpg" alt="Claudia Schiffer Frame International Women's Day Northants" class="wp-image-38363" /></figure>



<p>One of the original Supermodels, Claudia needs no introduction. She&#8217;s appeared in campaigns for Chanel, Lagerfeld, Chloé, Versace, Dior&#8230; the list is endless. But it&#8217;s a little known fact that the German blond bombshell lives with in a magnificently modernist home in south Northants, raising the school run fashion stakes significantly. She&#8217;s definitely on our IWD good list for her work with UNICEF UK, who she has been Ambassador for since 1997, traveling and campaigning to raise awareness around immunisation and vaccines.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.sooyoga.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kristina Rihanoff</a>, Yoga Teacher and Professional Dancer</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/Kristina-Rihanoff-IWD.jpeg" alt="Kristina Rihanoff Northampton International Women's Day Northants" class="wp-image-38375" /></figure>



<p>The former <em>Strictly</em> pro moved to Northampton with her fiancé and Saints legend Ben Cohen after the pair were partnered on the show and subsequently fell hook line and sinker for each other. Together, they&#8217;ve founded the Soo Yoga studio, which took the top spot in the National Muddy Awards in 2022. High praise indeed. Kristina also founded the Bespoke Ballroom Dance Academy and is patron of children&#8217;s charity The Dot Com Foundation, which helps children deal with risky situations such violence within the home, as well as confidence building.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caroline-criado-perez-obe-writer-and-campaigner-for-women-s-rights"><a href="https://carolinecriadoperez.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caroline Criado Perez OBE</a>, Writer and Campaigner for Women&#8217;s Rights</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northants/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/03/CCP-PENGUIN-.jpg" alt="Caroline Criado Perez International Women's Day Northants" class="wp-image-38347" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Stuart Simpson/Penguin</figcaption></figure>



<p>Not strictly ours to claim, as she was born in Brazil and has lived pretty much everywhere, but she did go to boarding school in Oundle, so we&#8217;re calling it. Author of the best-selling books <em>Invisible Women</em> and <em>Do It Like A  Woman</em>, CCP is also a broadcaster and award-winning feminist campaigner and has received the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year award and an OBE. She also writes a <a href="https://newsletter.carolinecriadoperez.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weekly newsletter</a> in which she writes about the gender data gap.</p>


International Women’s Day: 14 inspiring Northants, Leicestershire and Rutland women we love.

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