Caitlin Moran
A brash, hilarious, and deeply empathetic columnist who brought feminist conversation crashing into mainstream British living rooms with unapologetic wit.
Born 1975 (age 51)·English writer·Birthday: April 5·Generation X
Biography
Caitlin Moran didn't so much arrive on the British media scene as burst through its doors, a whirlwind of curly hair, thick glasses, and riotous opinion. Homeschooled in a Wolverhampton council house with seven siblings, she won a music journalism competition at 16 and never looked back. Her voice, a unique blend of intellectual heft and colloquial warmth, found its perfect platform at The Times. There, her columns dissected sex, politics, class, and pop culture with a radical honesty that made feminism accessible and urgent. Her 2011 book 'How to Be a Woman' became a global phenomenon, a manifesto that mixed memoir and polemic, sparking conversations in book clubs and pubs alike. Moran writes and speaks with the contagious joy of someone who has fought to claim her space, using humor as both a weapon and a bridge. She turned the personal—periods, childbirth, loving George Michael—into powerfully political commentary, championing ordinary women with extraordinary loudness.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Caitlin was born in 1975, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Caitlin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1975
#1 Movie
Jaws
Best Picture
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Caitlin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1975Born
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1980Started school
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1988Became a teenager
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Could drive
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1993Could vote
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Turned 21
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2005Turned 30
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 40
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 50
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 51 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the international bestseller 'How to Be a Woman', a defining text of contemporary popular feminism.
- Has written two influential weekly columns for The Times for over a decade, shaping cultural discourse.
- Created and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom 'Raised by Wolves', loosely based on her own childhood.
- Named Columnist of the Year, Critic of the Year, and Culture Commentator at the British Press Awards.
- Her 2014 book 'Moranifesto' collected her most significant journalism and commentary.
Did You Know?
She wrote her first novel, 'The Chronicles of Narmo', at age 15, based on her experiences of being homeschooled.
She is a self-professed 'superfan' of the singer George Michael and has written extensively about his influence.
Moran and her sister once managed a brief pop career under the name The Shend.
She often writes from her bed, a fact she frequently mentions in interviews and her work.
She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Wolverhampton in 2015.
““We need to reclaim the word 'feminism'. We need the word 'feminism' back real bad.””
