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Brooke Magnanti (born 5 November 1975) is an American-born naturalised British former research scientist, blogger, and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour. While completing her doctoral studies, between 2003 and 2004, Magnanti supplemented her income by working as a London
call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...
known by the working name Taro. Her diary, published as the anonymous blog ''Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl'', became increasingly popular as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Remaining anonymous, Magnanti went on to have her experiences published as '' The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl'' in 2005 and ''The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl'' in 2006. Her first two books were UK top 10 best-sellers in the nonfiction hardback and nonfiction paperback lists. In 2007 Belle's blogs and books were adapted into a television programme, ''
Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London ...
'' starring
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
as Belle, with the real name
Hannah Baxter Hannah Baxter (Billie Piper) is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl''. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for ...
. In November 2009, fearing her real identity was about to come out, Magnanti revealed her real name and occupation as a child health scientist. She is honoured in BBC's 100 Women in 2013 and 2014.


Early life

Born in
New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History B ...
, United States to an Italian American father and
Jewish American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...
mother, Magnanti grew up in
Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...
, Florida. She graduated from the private
Clearwater Central Catholic High School Clearwater Central Catholic High School is a private college preparatory school for grades 9 through 12 and located in Clearwater, Florida, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1962, the school enrolls approximately 500 st ...
where she was named a
National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
in 1992. She entered university at the age of 16, going on to receive a B.S. in 1996 from
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
. Relocating to the United Kingdom, Magnanti studied for a master's degree in
genetic epidemiology Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic factors in determining health and disease in families and in populations, and the interplay of such genetic factors with environmental factors. Genetic epidemiology seeks to derive a statist ...
and PhD in
forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
from the
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
in England.


Identity


Pseudonym

Magnanti's pseudonym was derived from the 1928 novel '' Belle de jour'' by
Joseph Kessel Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Kessel was born to a Argentine Jews, Je ...
and the 1967 film of the same name starring
Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
, directed by
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
. In the film, "Belle de Jour" is an expression translating literally as "daytime beauty", as Deneuve's character frequented the brothel during the daytime, when her husband was absent from home. The expression is a pun on the French phrase "belle de nuit", which translates as "lady of the night", i.e. a prostitute.Jacqueline Vickery
''Belle de Jour Blog''
In: John Derek Hall Downing (ed.): ''Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media''. Sage, 2011, , p. 72
The weblog ''Belle de Jour: Diary of a London call girl'' first appeared in October 2003 and won the ''Guardian'' newspaper's Best British Weblog 2003, in the second year of the award's existence. There was speculation in the media for several years as to the real identity of the author, whether Belle really was a call girl. Guesses as to who Belle was ranged from
Rowan Pelling Rowan Dorothy Pelling (born 17 January 1968) is a British journalist, broadcaster, writer and stand-up comedian who first achieved note as the editor (or "editrice", to use her term) of a monthly literary/erotic magazine, the ''Erotic Review''. ...
to
Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at ''Quillette.'' A graduate of ...
according to ''The Telegraph''. In 2004 ''The Sunday Times'' featured a front-page headline incorrectly identifying
Sarah Champion Sarah Deborah Champion (born 10 July 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham since 2012. Champion studied Psychology at Sheffield University. Before entering Parliament, she ran ...
as the author of the blog based on erroneous textual analysis by Donald Foster. According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' a fellow British blogger guessed her identity in 2003 but kept it secret. He made a page on his blog containing the
googlewhack A Googlewhack is a contest to find a Google Search query that returns a single result. A Googlewhack must consist of two words found in a dictionary and is only considered legitimate if both of the search terms appear in the result. The term googl ...
of Belle de Jour and Brooke Magnanti that allowed him to see if anyone googled the two names. In 2009 he identified IP addresses originating from
Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at Northcliffe House in ...
that had accessed the page at which point he contacted Magnanti to alert her. Around the same time tabloid reporters had been escorted from the hospital where she worked for breaking into her office.


Revelation of identity

On 15 November 2009, ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' revealed in an interview that the author's real name is Brooke Magnanti; she was 34 years of age at the time. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Paul Gallagher described it as the revelation of "one of the best kept literary secrets of the decade". ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
''s Stephen Adams said it had been "the new millennium's equivalent of the 1980s' search for the golden hare". Such was the nature of the secret that Magnanti's colleagues did not know until one month before she went public, her publishers had been unaware of her true identity until the previous week and her parents found out on that weekend. After signing her first book deal and starting writing articles for newspapers, only two other people were aware of her identity, her agent Patrick Walsh and her accountant, who handled the financial transactions via a shell corporation. Magnanti commented that she had thought a former boyfriend was on the verge of outing her, and later reported him to the police for threats and harassment against her and her partner. Writing on her blog on the day of the revelation, Magnanti stated: A spokesperson for the
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
stated, "This aspect of Dr Magnanti's past is not relevant to her current role at the university", while her publisher said, "It's a courageous decision for Belle de Jour to come forward with her true identity and we support her decision to do so".


Career


''Diary of a London Call Girl''

Magnanti worked for 14 months as a £300-an-hour prostitute called Taro for a London
escort agency An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort's ...
from 2003, after submitting her PhD
thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
. She did so due to lack of funds before her ''
viva voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam **Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken evi ...
'' at the
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
in 2003 and is estimated to have earned more than £100,000 in that period. She had previously been a science blogger using her real name and started blogging about sex work under a pseudonym. ''Diary of a London Call Girl'' was voted Blog of the Year by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper in 2003. Awards judge
Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...
called it "Archly transgressive, anonymous hooker is definitely manipulating the blog medium, word by word, sentence by sentence far more effectively than any of her competitors ... She is in a league by herself as a blogger." Shortly after receiving the award she signed with literary agency
Conville and Walsh George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre, as well as the administrative and commercial hub and the seat of the Garden Route District Municipality. It is na ...
who negotiated a publishing deal with
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...
. Reviews of the books compared her writing to the works of Martin Amis and
Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...
, and she frequently quotes from the poems of
Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, '' The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, '' Jill'' (1946) and '' A Girl in Winter'' (1 ...
. Themes of the blog and books include isolation and
personae A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...
. "Solitude as much as sex propels these books ... Belle's prickly disbelief in any lasting togetherness picks up an almost existential heft." She writes in ''Playing the Game'' "it's not all about the sex – never has been – it's about the heart of darkness."


Later writing

Magnanti's publisher,
Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...
, printed her first two books as part of its "Non Fiction/Memoir" line. Her third book was classified as fiction and represents a fictional continuation from the first two. Her books have been published in the UK, US, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, and China. In 2016 her first thriller ''The Turning Tide'' was published in the UK. It attracted positive reviews, with ''The Guardian'' listing it among the best recent crime novels and ''The Times'' noting "Magnanti's writing is lively and entertaining. When her victims are laid out on that slab, her unspeakably detailed descriptions are good enough to put the wind up
Patricia Cornwell Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in ...
." From November 2005 until May 2006, Magnanti contributed a regular column in ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
''. Since her identity had been revealed she has written about UK libel laws and their effect on science for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s website
Comment Is Free TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...
. On 25 February 2010 Magnanti appeared on the BBC political affairs programme '' This Week'' to discuss the subject of
sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
. She is also an occasional guest on ''The Book Show'' broadcast on
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
and has spoken at a number of venues including ''The Sunday Times'' Oxford Literary Festival in conversation with
India Knight India Knight (née Gisèle Aertsens; born 14 December 1965) is a British journalist and author. She writes for British newspapers, and has written the books: ''My Life on a Plate'', ''Don't You Want Me?'', ''The Shops'', ''Neris and India's Id ...
. She has also spoken on internet and forensic identity as part of the
Bristol Festival of Ideas The Bristol Festival of Ideas is a project established in Bristol, England, which aims "to stimulate people’s minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate".Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
2011 series ''Fry's Planet Word''. In 2012 Magnanti was selected as ambassador for the
Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
Whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
Festival and was ambassador for the festival's gin section in 2015. Magnanti, along with
Tobias Hill Tobias Hill (born 30 March 1970 in London, England) is a British poet, essayist, writer of short stories and novelist. Life Tobias Hill was born in Kentish Town, in North London, to parents of German Jewish and English extraction: his maternal ...
, acted as a judge for ''Fleeting Magazines 2012 Six-Word Short Story Prize. She was interviewed on ''Hardtalk'' on the BBC in October. Since 2012 she has been contributing blogger to ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
''.


Scientist

Magnanti's PhD thesis, awarded from the
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
Department of
Forensic Pathology Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...
, was entitled ''Macrobioinformatics: the application of informatics methods to records of human remains''. It was submitted in September 2003 and the degree was awarded in 2004. After moving to London and while blogging as ''Belle de Jour'' she also worked as a computer programmer in
cheminformatics Cheminformatics (also known as chemoinformatics) refers to use of physical chemistry theory with computer and information science techniques—so called "''in silico''" techniques—in application to a range of descriptive and prescriptive problem ...
at InforSense. She blogged about this career at Cosmas. Magnanti went on to work as a biostatistician in the
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
Paediatric and Lifecourse Epidemiology Research Group (PLERG), researching a possible link between the occurrence of thyroid cancer in under-25s in NE England and radioiodine fallout exposure from
Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...
in Ukraine. After her pseudonymous publishing career Magnanti was identified to be working as a research associate in developmental neurotoxicology and
cancer epidemiology The epidemiology of cancer is the study of the factors affecting cancer, as a way to infer possible trends and causes. The study of cancer epidemiology uses epidemiological methods to find the cause of cancer and to identify and develop improve ...
at the Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health (BIRCH) at the University of Bristol. Specifically she was part of the EU-funded Henvinet consortium, researching the policies for assessing the risks of developmental neuropathology from exposure to
organophosphates In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...
. She collaborated on several EU project policy documents regarding human developmental risks of environmental exposure to
chlorpyrifos Chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as Chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, animals, and buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems ...
,
phthalate Phthalates (, ), or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid. They are mainly used as plasticizers, i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. They are used primarily to soften ...
s, and
DecaBDE Decabromodiphenyl ether (also known as decaBDE, deca-BDE, DBDE, deca, decabromodiphenyl oxide, DBDPO, or bis(pentabromophenyl) ether) is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Composition ...
and HBCD.


Activism

In early 2012, Magnanti published a non-fiction popular science book under her real name entitled ''The Sex Myth''. It covered topics in sexuality studies and sociological research in the effects of adult entertainment and sex work. Reviewing for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' Catherine Hakim wrote "Magnanti offers a pretty sharp analysis of sexual politics: who fabricates the myths and why, the role of both rightwing and leftwing media in building up
moral panics A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
, the vast sums obtained by the pressure groups that profit from them, and, more recently, too, by the pharmaceutical companies that plan to profit from newly invented sexual diseases." It drew a less favourable review from
Julie Bindel Julie Bindel (born 20 July 1962) is an English radical feminist writer. She is also co-founder of the law reform group Justice for Women, which has aimed to help women who have been prosecuted for assaulting or killing violent male partners. A ...
, who writes of Magnanti's book, "I disagree with just about everything she has to say". In 2011 Brooke Magnanti published a statistical re-analysis criticising the ''Lilith Report on Lap Dancing and Striptease in the Borough of Camden'', a study which had claimed that sexual crimes increased after the opening of lap dancing venues in the area; the analysis showed this was not the case. The independent London newspaper the ''Camden New Journal'' highlighted Magnanti's criticism of the Lilith findings. In May 2016 Magnanti, alongside Paris Lees, was called to give evidence about sex work conditions in the UK to the Home Affairs Committee investigating prostitution laws in Britain. The resulting recommendations by the committee headed by
Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 to 2019. He was the British Parliament's longest-serving Br ...
, released in July 2016, implemented the pair's suggestions to eliminate criminal records of those arrested for prostitution-related crimes. Sex worker nonprofits called the apparent U-turn decision "a stunning victory for sex workers and our demands for decriminalisation" and "a giant step forward for sex workers' rights in the UK."


''Secret Diary of a Call Girl''

A television series loosely based on the first book was in development with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in the UK, but eventually aired on
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
as ''
Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London ...
''. The first series aired from 27 September 2007 to 15 November 2007 starring
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
as
Hannah Baxter Hannah Baxter (Billie Piper) is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl''. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for ...
(Belle). Magnanti met Piper in the course of preparing for the role but maintained her anonymity. A half-hour TV programme covering a meeting and conversation between the two was broadcast on
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
on 25 January 2010. The second series commenced broadcasting in the UK on
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
on 11 September 2008. The third series began broadcasting in the UK in January 2010. The fourth and final series started broadcasting in the UK on ITV2 in February 2011.


Personal life

Magnanti is married and used to live in
Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...
in the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
. She became a
British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
in 2013, and moved back to the United States in 2016.


Libel case

In June 2011, an ex-boyfriend issued a libel writ against ''The Sunday Times'' for a claim of defamation caused by his mention in the paper. The claim, filed by Flight Lieutenant Owen Morris of
RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...
, claimed that following her outing, he was identified as her former boyfriend and therefore mentions of his harassment in the articles had been damaging even though they did not mention him by name. ''The Sunday Times'' printed an apology in February 2012, followed by ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' who agreed to pay damages.Flight Lieutenant Owen Morris
''Press Gazette'', 3 May 2012


Bibliography


Writing as Belle de Jour

* * * * * *


Writing as Dr Brooke Magnanti

* * * * *


Selected scientific works

* * * * *


Notes


References


"I'm Belle de Jour"archive
– Dr Brooke Magnanti reveals all in an interview with
India Knight India Knight (née Gisèle Aertsens; born 14 December 1965) is a British journalist and author. She writes for British newspapers, and has written the books: ''My Life on a Plate'', ''Don't You Want Me?'', ''The Shops'', ''Neris and India's Id ...


External links


www.brookemagnanti.com
– official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnanti, Brooke 1975 births Living people Academics of the University of Bristol Alumni of the University of Sheffield American emigrants to England American prostitutes Female prostitutes American people of Italian descent Anonymous bloggers British bloggers British women bloggers British female prostitutes Escorts Florida State University alumni Jewish American writers People from Clearwater, Florida Pseudonymous women writers Sex worker activists in the United Kingdom American women bloggers American bloggers BBC 100 Women Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom American emigrants to Scotland British people of Italian descent American women academics 21st-century American women 21st-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American Jews