Miriam, Lady Hogg ( Stern; formerly Stoppard; born 12 May 1937), known professionally by her former married name Miriam Stoppard, is an English medical doctor, journalist, author and television presenter.

Early life and medical career

Miriam Stern was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. Her father, Sidney, was a nurse and her mother, Jenny, worked for the Newcastle school dinners service. Her sister is social justice activist Murreil Hazel Stern. Her family was

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

ish. Her father was born Jewish and her mother

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...

. Stern grew up on a council housing estate. Her mother was a

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and gown, evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua (clothing), mantua-makers, and are also known as a mod ...

who taught Miriam how to make her own clothing, and from an early age she bought remnants of cloth with her pocket-money. Up until her teens, she fashioned her own designs, complemented with cheap and improvised accessories. ''Sunday Express'' magazine supplement 23 October 2011, p. 55, accessed 8 January 2015. As a teenager she attended school on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. Inspired by her father, she had early aspirations to become a doctor. Outside of studies she enjoyed music, danced and played

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

. Stern attended the Central High School in Eskdale Terrace and trained as a nurse at the

Newcastle General Hospital Newcastle General Hospital (NGH) was for many years the main hospital for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and is managed by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Accident and Emergency Department and Intensive Care clo ...

(Royal Free Medical School). She went on to study medicine at

King's College, Durham The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges that are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing a focus for social, cultural and sporting ...

(which became

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 ...

in 1963).

Career

After qualifying as a doctor, Stoppard worked at the Newcastle's

Royal Victoria Infirmary The Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) is a 673-bed tertiary referral hospital and research centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with strong links to Newcastle University. The hospital is part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Tru ...

and specialised in

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

as a

senior registrar :''This article primarily explains the Senior Registrar doctor grade within the United Kingdom until 1996'' A Senior Registrar was a grade of doctor in the United Kingdom or Ireland before being superseded during reforms in the 1990s. The senior ...

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the Wes ...

. She became a research director and then managing director in the

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

industry for

Syntex Laboratorios Syntex SA (later Syntex Laboratories, Inc.) was a pharmaceutical company formed in Mexico City in January 1944 by Russell Marker, Emeric Somlo, and Federico Lehmann to manufacture therapeutic steroids from the Mexican yams called ''cabe ...

. She became well known during the 1970s and 1980s as a television presenter on scientific and medical programmes such as '' Don't Ask Me'' and ''Where There's Life''. Stoppard has written several books about health, including the ''Children's Medical Handbook'', but particularly on the subject of

women's health Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...

. She writes on health issues and acts as an

agony aunt An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are wr ...

for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'', having previously answered readers' letters for ''TV Times'' magazine. Her company, Miriam Stoppard Lifetime, sells her books and health products. Stoppard was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to healthcare and charity. In August 2012, writing in the ''Daily Mirror'', Stoppard supported UCL's Institute of Child Health research which suggested reviewing the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding until six months, adding that the appearance of teeth should signal the end of breastfeeding. She was named Journalist of the Year at the

Stonewall Awards The Stonewall Awards was an annual event held by the British charity Stonewall (charity), Stonewall to recognise people who have affected the lives of United Kingdom, British lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. The event was first held in 2006 a ...

Stonewall Awards 2008
Stonewall.org.uk (27 March 2009). on 6 November of that year.

Family

From 1972 to 1992 Stoppard was married to the playwright

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, with whom she had two sons. One of their sons is the actor

Ed Stoppard Edmund Stoppard (born 16 September 1974) is an English actor. He is the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and doctor Miriam, Lady Hogg. Life Stoppard was born on 16 September 1974 in London, England, the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and Miriam ...

. She married the industrialist Sir Christopher Hogg in 1997, and was married to him until his death in 2021. She has two stepdaughters from her second husband's first marriage. Former MP

Oona King Oona Tamsyn King, Baroness King of Bow (born 22 October 1967) is a business executive and former British Labour Party politician. She was a Labour Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow from 1997 until 2005. Early life Oona King was ...

is Stoppard's niece; she is the daughter of

Preston King Preston King may refer to: * Preston King (politician) (1806–1865), American politician * Preston King (academic) (born 1936), American academic * Preston King (mayor) Dr Preston King (1862-1943) was the Mayor of Bath in 1913 and 1917–18. ...

and Miriam's sister, Murreil Hazel Stern. Her first cousin is politician

Ted Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton Thomas Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, (26 March 1925 – 21 March 2020) was a British Labour and Co-operative politician. Career Born in Newcastle, Graham was educated at the Co-operative College and held several positions in the c ...

References

External links

Official website

Video clips

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoppard, Miriam 1937 births British advice columnists English Jews English television presenters 20th-century English medical doctors Living people Writers from Newcastle upon Tyne Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Central Newcastle High School English women medical doctors Jewish physicians 20th-century women physicians British women columnists Stoppard family Alumni of King's College, Newcastle 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Wives of knights