Kathryn Marie Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian-British author whose works have been best-sellers.

Early life

Lette was born on 11 November 1958 in Sydney's southern suburbs. She appeared in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' of 20 August 1978 pictured in

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

with her friend

Gabrielle Carey Gabrielle Carey (born 10 January 1959) is an Australian writer noted for the teen novel, '' Puberty Blues'', which she co-wrote with Kathy Lette. This novel was the first teenage novel published in Australia that was written by teenagers. Carey ...

in an article titled "Buskers Lose Freak Tag". They were standing up for buskers' rights not to be moved on as

Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

enforced a 1919 Act of Parliament in New South Wales.

Career

Lette first attracted attention in 1979 as the co-author (with Gabrielle Carey) of ''

Puberty Blues ''Puberty Blues'' is a 1981 Australian coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1979 novel of the same name (essentially a protofeminist teen novel) by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey. Plot The story focuses ...

'', a strongly autobiographical,

proto-feminist Protofeminism is a concept that anticipates modern feminism in eras when the feminist concept as such was still unknown. This refers particularly to times before the 20th century, although the precise usage is disputed, as 18th-century feminism ...

teen novel about two 13-year-old southern suburbs girls attempting to improve their social status by ingratiating themselves with the "Greenhills gang" of surfers. The book was made into a film in 1981 and a TV series in 2012. She subsequently became a newspaper columnist and sitcom writer, but returned to the novel form with ''Girls' Night Out'' in 1988 and has since written several more novels and plays, including ''Foetal Attraction'' in 1993, ''Mad Cows'' in 1996 (which was made into a film starring

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

and

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera '' Brookside'' ...

) and ''Dead Sexy''. She left Australia for the United Kingdom in 1988 and took full British citizenship in 2011. In 2007, she published the book ''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)'' which was turned into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in 2011 by composer

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as ''Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' and ...

and playwright

Timothy Daly Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

; it was premiered at the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

, conducted by Richard Gill. The same year, she briefly appeared on ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

'' as a London correspondent, a part of the Global Notebook. In 2008, Lette published ''To Love, Honour & Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part)'', a romantic novel with hints of comedy. With Jessica Adams, Maggie Alderson and

Imogen Edwards-Jones Imogen Edwards-Jones (born June 1968, in Birmingham), is a British writer, author and journalist, who blogs for doyoutravel.com and Get the Gloss. Biography Edwards-Jones was educated at Malvern St James#Malvern Girls College, Malvern Girls' Col ...

, Lette edited an anthology by prominent women writers of erotic short-stories, ''In Bed with...'' (2009), including contributions from

Louise Doughty Louise Doughty is the author of nine novels, five plays for radio and a TV mini-series. Her most recent book is ''Platform Seven'' (2019), currently being adapted as a four-part drama. The previous book, ''Black Water'', (2016) was nominated as ...

Esther Freud Esther Freud (born 2 May 1963) is a British novelist. Early life and training Born in London, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and painter Lucian Freud. She is also a great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud and niece of Clement Freud. ...

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 ...

Joan Smith Joan Alison Smith (born 27 August 1953) is an English journalist, novelist, and human rights activist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN and was the Executive Director of Ha ...

Rachel Johnson Rachel Sabiha Johnson (born 3 September 1965) is a British journalist, television presenter, and author who has appeared frequently on political discussion panels, including '' The Pledge'' on Sky News and BBC One's debate programme, '' Questi ...

and

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' Th ...

, each publishing under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

. In April 2009, she contributed to the fourth issue of the literary magazine '' Notes from the Underground'' with a piece honouring her close friend John Mortimer. In November 2009, she received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

Southampton Solent University Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...

. She teamed with

Radox Radox is a brand of personal care products, best known for their range of bubble bath and shower gels. The brand was founded in the United Kingdom in 1908, and is now also available in Ireland, Czech Republic, Australia, Malaysia and South Afri ...

to write a water-resistant book, which was released free online in September 2009, with an aim to encourage women to be selfish with their time.

Recognition

In recognition of her many novels and advocacy of equality, human rights, and physical and mental health both nationally and internationally, Lette was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (''Honoris Causa'') from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

on 20 April 2017.

Personal life

Lette lives in

South Hampstead South Hampstead is part of the London Borough of Camden in inner north London. It is commonly defined as the area between West End Lane in the west, the Chiltern Main Line (south), Broadhurst Gardens north and north-west followed by a non-road ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. She has two children (Julius and Georgina) with fellow Australian

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

, whom she met while still married to Kim Williams, when appearing on Robertson's TV panel debate show ''Hypotheticals''. Julius (known as Jules) has

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of beha ...

: he has embarked on a career as an actor, and plays the character of Jason Haynes in '' Holby City''. Lette and Robertson separated in 2017. She supports the

UK Labour Party The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all gene ...

. In August 2014, she was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter 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 ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

Books

Novels

* ''

'' (1979, with Gabrielle Carey) * ''Girls' Night Out'' (1988) * ''The Llama Parlour'' (1992) * ''Foetal Attraction'' (1993) * ''Mad Cows'' (1996) * ''Altar Ego'' (1998) * ''Nip 'n' Tuck'' (2001) * ''Dead Sexy'' (2005) * ''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)'' (2006) * ''To Love Honour and Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part)'' (2008) * ''The Boy Who Fell to Earth'' (2012) * ''Love is Blind'' (2013) * ''Courting Trouble'' (2014) * ''Best Laid Plans'' (2017) * ''HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy'' (2020)

Other

* ''Men: a User's Guide'' (2010) (humour)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lette, Kathy 1958 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian expatriates in England Australian women novelists Writers from Sydney People from the Sutherland Shire Labour Party (UK) people 20th-century British novelists British socialists British republicans British social commentators British women novelists British feminists Australian socialist feminists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British women writers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom