Edwina Currie
A blunt-talking Conservative MP whose political career combusted over eggs, then reinvented herself as a best-selling novelist and sharp media voice.
Born 1946 (age 80)·Former British politician, broadcaster and writer·Birthday: October 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Edwina Currie’s trajectory through British public life has been a study in resilience and reinvention. Elected as a Thatcherite firebrand for South Derbyshire in 1983, she quickly gained a reputation in Westminster for her outspoken, often combative style. As a Junior Health Minister, she launched a forceful public health campaign, but it was her stark warning about the prevalence of salmonella in British eggs that triggered a national panic and led to her resignation in 1988. That dramatic fall from grace, however, proved to be a beginning. Currie carved out a successful second act as a broadcaster, newspaper columnist, and, most unexpectedly, a writer of popular historical fiction. Her series of novels, often centered on Tudor and Stuart history, became bestsellers, demonstrating a narrative flair far removed from the political bullet points that first made her famous.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Edwina was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Edwina Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Edwina's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for 14 years and as a Junior Health Minister from 1986 to 1988.
- Authored a series of best-selling historical novels, including 'The Italian Wedding' and 'The Ambassador's Women'.
- Became a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4's 'Any Questions?' and a frequent newspaper columnist after leaving politics.
- Her 2002 political diaries, covering the Thatcher and Major governments, provided a candid and controversial insider account.
Did You Know?
She had a four-year affair with fellow Conservative MP John Major in the late 1970s, before he became Prime Minister, which was revealed in her diaries.
Before politics, she worked as a management consultant and a lecturer in economics.
She is a trained pianist and has performed in public concerts.
Currie was a contestant on the BBC celebrity ballroom dancing show 'Strictly Come Dancing' in 2011.
“I've never been frightened of saying what I think. The day I am, is the day I should shut up.”
