Rosaleen (Rosie) Moriarty-Simmonds (born 1960) is a British businesswoman, artist and disability rights campaigner. She was born without arms or legs after her mother was prescribed

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...

in pregnancy.

Education

She attended Ysgol Erw'r Delyn, a

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

, and from age 14

Treloar School Treloar School and College is a non-maintained residential and day special school and college for disabled children and young people aged from 2 to 25 in Holybourne near Alton, Hampshire, UK. Aims and governance The school and college aims to ...

in Alton, at that time the only school in the UK to offer an academic education for students with disabilities. She was the first disabled student to enrol at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, graduating in 1985 with a BSc degree in psychology.

Career

After graduating Moriarty-Simmonds worked in the civil service at

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...

for seven years, at Executive Officer level. In 1995 she established RMS Disability Issues Consultancy, which offers training in Disability Issues. She has appeared in many radio and television programmes, starting with an appearance in a television news bulletin at the age of two. She was one of the leading campaigners for the creation of the Thalidomide Memorial in

Cathays Park Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It in ...

, Cardiff, to commemorate the survivors of thalidomide and those who fought for justice for them, and made a speech at its unveiling in 2016. She has taken up painting and has been accepted as a student member of

Mouth and Foot Painting Artists The Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA) is a for-profit international organization facilitating the sale of artwork produced by mouth and foot painting artists associated with the organization. None of the artists ha ...

Publication

In 2007 she published her autobiography ''Four Fingers and Thirteen Toes'' (revised ed 2009 AuthorHouse UK, ).

Awards and honours

She was appointed

O.B.E. 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 ...

in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

"For Services to the Equality and Rights of Disabled People". In 2017 Cardiff University awarded her an Honorary Fellowship, describing her as "a forthright and passionate speaker" who "has worked at the highest level ... to make significant changes in attitudes to disability".

Personal life

She married Stephen Simmonds, a solicitor, who is also Thalidomide impaired, in 1988. They have one son, born in 1995 after three earlier miscarriages. Her hobbies are photography and acting.

References

External links

* ''RMS Consultancy'' 1960 births Living people Alumni of Cardiff University Officers of the Order of the British Empire People with phocomelia British businesspeople British women in business Artists with disabilities {{UK-business-bio-stub