Anita Roddick

Dame Anita Perella Roddick, DBE (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) died of a major acute brain haemorrhage, after being admitted to St Richard's Hospital, Chichester the previous evening suffering from a severe headache.

Born Anita Lucia Perelli in a bomb shelter in Littlehampton, Sussex, the third of four children of an Italian Jewish immigrant couple. Her parents had left Naples, Italy just before the Second World War. Her mother, Gilda, ran a café, and was in the habit of recycling. She went to school at St Joseph’s Convent, and then at Maude Allen Secondary Modern. After leaving school, she trained as a teacher at Bath College of Higher Education, and travelled widely before her mother introduced her to Gordon Roddick, whom she married in 1970.

The couple opened a restaurant, followed by a hotel. Anita worked for the United Nations where she travelled extensively and met people from a number of different cultures. She founded The Body Shop in Brighton, in 1976, a British cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products that shaped ethical consumerism. The company was one of the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and one of the first to promote fair trade with third world countries.

The Body Shop, has over 2,000 stores in more than 50 countries. The company, headquartered in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England, is known for its vegetable-based products ranging from Body Butter, Peppermint Foot Lotion, and Hemp. The Body Shop became known for its commitment to its core values which support a wide range of issues around the globe. Its slogans included: Against Animal Testing, Support Community Trade, Activate Self Esteem, Defend Human Rights, and Protect Our Planet.

Anita was also involved in activism and campaigning for environmental and social issues including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue. In 1990, she founded Children On The Edge, a charitable organization which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Anita was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to long standing Hepatitis C in 2004, and after she revealed this to the media in February 2007 she promoted the work of the Hepatitis C Trust, and campaigned to increase awareness of the disease.

In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Anita a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and she was officially styled Dame Anita Roddick DBE.

Her work continues to live on. Please visit: The Body Shop