Dame Prue Leith became a household name as a judge on The Great British Bake Off (or The Great British Baking Show if you are in the US) but has been working in the food industry for over six decades.
The multi-talented star is an accomplished chef, restaurateur, campaigner, TV and radio presenter, cookbook writer, author, designer and businesswoman, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Prue is back in the iconic GBBO tent for its 15th series where she and fellow judge Paul Hollywood are critiquing bakes and handing out handshakes for the bakers at the top of the class each week.
So what else is there to know about the woman behind the colorful specs? Let us fill you in...
Dame Prue Leith was born and bred in South Africa
Prue was born Prudence Margaret Leith on 18 February 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa. Her father, Sam Leith, worked for African Explosives producing dynamite for mines, and her mother, Margaret 'Peggy' Inglis, was a well-known actress of her time. Prue has a brother, ex-restaurateur James Leith, who's six years her junior.
Between the ages of 5 to 17, Prue was a pupil at St Mary's School, Waverley, a private all-girls boarding school in Johannesburg, which was run by Anglican nuns.
After leaving school, she attended the University of Cape Town but didn't take to any of the courses she signed up for.
Unsure of what she wanted to do in life, Prue persuaded her parents to allow her to attend the Sorbonne (which was formally known as the University of Paris). It was during her time in France she set her heart on pursuing a career in the culinary field.
She's a Cordon Bleu trained chef
Following her move to London in 1960, Prue began her training at the renowned Cordon Bleu Cookery School. After completing her studies she started her own catering company, Leith's Good Food, supplying food for parties and other fancy events.
Prue's career quickly went from strength to strength and in 1969, she opened Leith's, her Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill, which she eventually sold in 1995.
Prue has also founded two cookery schools. The first was Leith's School of Food and Wine, which she launched in 1975 and sold in 1993. Two years later, she set up the Prue Leith College in South Africa, which has since been renamed Prue Leith Chef's Academy.
She's worked as a TV judge before
Prue is famed for her firm but fair critique and has brought her trademark vigour and vim to the iconic Great British Bake Off. But what some might not know is that it's not the first time she's been a TV judge.
She had an 11 year stint as a judge on cooking contest show The Great British Menu, working alongside Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton, before bowing out in 2016 saying it was "time for a change".
Prue also gave her expert opinion on Channel 4's My Kitchen Rules, but left when she accepted the gig on Bake Off.
She a hugely successful businesswoman
Dame Prue has a great brain for business.
She's acted as a non-executive director for multiple organizations, including British Rail, Safeway, British Transport Hotels, Woolworths plc and Halifax.
Prue used to be the Chair of the Royal Society of Arts and was responsible for the decision to put a sculpture on the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square — which she told The Guardian is her 'greatest ever achievement'.
Discussing the art project on BBC Breakfast, Prue said: “I’m such a bossy woman and I just interfere when I think that things need fixing and it bugged me that the plinth had been empty for 150 years. So I started a campaign to get it done."
After five years of graft and going through 13 committees, delighted Prue got her wish, and the plinth now houses changing sculptures or installations by contemporary artists.
She's a published author, many times over
Prue has packed an extraordinary amount into her illustrious career - including writing no fewer than 12 cookery books.
These include her latest offering, Bliss on Toast: 75 Recipes and her first vegetarian cookbook, which was published during lockdown in collaboration with her niece, Peta Leith, a former pastry chef at The Ivy. In 2013 she published her memoirs, titled Relish.
Prue continues to be an in-demand journalist. She's been a food columnist for national newspapers, including The Guardian, Sunday Express and Daily Mail, and has written extensively for glossy magazines.
But that's not all. Prue has also penned seven fiction novels, three of which form the 'Food of Love' trilogy.
She has found love twice
When Prue was just 21 she embarked on a 13-year relationship with the South African author and property developer, Rayne Kruger. However, their relationship had to be kept under wraps because Rayne was the husband of Prue's mother's best friend.
In an extract from her autobiography Relish: My Life On A Plate, Prue revealed: "Was it difficult? Terribly. We kept it a secret for 13 years. But it was also thrilling — and deeply fulfilling."
The couple eventually married in October 1974, just two days before Prue gave birth to their son, Daniel. Prue and Rayne also had a daughter, Li-Da, who they adopted as a 16-month-old from her native Cambodia.
Their marriage lasted until Rayne's death in 2002, and Prue has since found happiness with her second husband, former fashion designer John Playfair.
She's a very keen gardener
Not only is Prue a dab hand in the kitchen, she is also rather green-fingered.
The star's love of planting and pruning began 50 years ago when she moved her young family out to the countryside and slowly started to develop her own outdoor paradise.
“I started to learn the difference between an oak and ash, a petunia and a dahlia, and then I got absolutely hooked on it," she revealed to House and Garden.
Prue's husband John also shares her passion, and in 2021 the couple allowed TV cameras to film their own horticultural adventure. The Channel 4 mini-series Prue's Garden Plot followed Prue and John as they designed and created their own garden.
She's the recipient of prestigious honours
You'd be hard pushed to find a TV judge more highly decorated than Prue.
She has been awarded 13 honorary degrees or fellowships from universities across the UK, and in July 2017 she was installed as the Chancellor of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.
Prue received three honours from the late Queen Elizabeth II. In 1989 she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), followed by a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) a decade later.
Then in the Queen's 2021 Birthday Honours, Prue received the highest accolade of them all when she was made a Dame.
She loves her costume jewellery
Rainbow bright necklaces have become something of a signature style for Prue, and she's definitely not snobby about where her bold accessories come from. In fact, the cheaper, the better!
"I’m obsessed with cheap necklaces, I don’t like expensive ones. I buy them from all over the world, from market stalls, on the streets and on beaches," Prue shared in a chat with You magazine.
"Your necklace and glasses, are right in people’s line of sight, so I think it’s perfectly reasonable to have hundreds of necklaces and dozens of glasses."
Prue, who says her upbringing in vibrant South Africa inspired her love of color, even co-created her own jewelry line with Lola Rose for QVC.
Dame Prue Leith's fact file
Frequently asked questions about the Great British Bake Off judge...
How old is Prue Leith?
Prue Leith is 84, she was born on 18 February, 1940.
Is Prue Leith married?
Yes. Prue Leith married retired clothes designer John Playfair in 2016. She was previously married to author Rayne Kruger from 1974 until his death in 2002.
Does Prue Leith have any children?
Yes. Prue had two children with her late husband Rayne Kruger. Her son Daniel is a Conservative MP, and her daughter Li-Da works as a filmmaker.
Where was Prue Leith born?
Prue Leith was born in Cape Town, South Africa.
How tall is Prue Leith?
Prue Leith is five foot six.
Instagram: @prueleith
Twitter: @PrueLeith
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
