Kate Mosse
A bestselling novelist who champions women's voices, she unearthed forgotten histories and co-founded a major literary prize.
Born 1961 (age 65)·English writer·Birthday: October 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Kate Mosse is a storyteller who digs in the dirt of history to find the voices left out of the record. While her blockbuster novel 'Labyrinth'—a tale of dual timelines set in Carcassonne—catapulted her to international fame, her work has always been rooted in a deeper mission. Long before writing it, she co-founded what is now the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1996, a direct challenge to a literary landscape that often sidelined women authors. Her own writing, from the 'Languedoc Trilogy' to Gothic novels, consistently centers resilient women navigating forgotten corners of the past, particularly the Cathar history of southwestern France. More than a novelist, Mosse is a cultural force—a broadcaster, playwright, and advocate who uses narrative to ask who gets to be remembered, and why.
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.
Kate was born in 1961, 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 Kate Was Born
The biggest hits of 1961
#1 Movie
101 Dalmatians
Best Picture
West Side Story
#1 TV Show
Wagon Train
Kate's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1961Born
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1966Started school
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1974Became a teenager
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Could drive
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1979Could vote
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Turned 21
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1991Turned 30
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
2001Turned 40
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 50
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 60
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 65 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the international bestseller 'Labyrinth' (2005), translated into over 37 languages and adapted for television.
- Co-founded the Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize for Fiction), a major UK literary award for women writers.
- Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to literature in 2013.
Did You Know?
She is the patron of the 'Mosse Mentorship' programme, which supports early-career women playwrights.
She met her husband while working as a press officer at the National Theatre in London.
She has a deep connection to Carcassonne, France, where she and her family have a home.
“History is written by the winners. Fiction is written by whoever gets to the keyboard.”
