Vanessa Branson Explained

Birth Name:Vanessa Gay Branson
Birth Date:1959 6, df=y[1]
Other Names:Vanessa Devereux
Years Active:1983–present
Children:4
Mother:Eve Branson
Relatives:G. A. H. Branson (grandfather)
Richard Branson
(brother)

Vanessa Branson (born 3 June 1959) is an English businesswoman and the founder of the Marrakech Biennale.

Early life

Branson is the youngest child of Eve Branson (née Evette Huntley Flindt; 1924–2021), a former ballet dancer and air hostess,[2] and Edward James "Ted" Branson (1918–2011), a barrister.[3] She was educated at Box Hill School.[4] [5] Her brother is founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson.[6]

Career

Branson opened and ran the Vanessa Devereux Gallery on Blenheim Crescent in London from 1986 until 1991.[7] She had married Robert Devereux in 1983 and they had four children before divorcing in 1997.[5] [8]

Between 1999 and 2004, Prue O’Day and Branson curated the Wonderful Fund collection which was first shown at the Museum of Marrackech.[9] Branson is the co-owner of a luxury boutique hotel in Marrakech, El Fenn, which she purchased in 2002 with entrepreneur Howell James.[6] [10] [11] In 2005 she became the president and founder of the Arts in Marrakech Festival, now known as the Marrakech Biennale.[11] [12] In October 2014, Branson was awarded the royal distinction of Officer of the Ouissam Aalouite[13] at the occasion of the ceremony inaugurating the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat for her contributions to Moroccan arts and culture.[14]

Branson also owns and runs Eilean Shona, an island on the west coast of Scotland at the entrance to Loch Moidart.[15] In collaboration with the Royal Society of Sculptors, a members-only residency has been created — a month-long opportunity for the winning member to live on the island and reflect upon and respond to the natural environment.[6] [16]

Branson's memoir, One Hundred Summers, was published in May 2020.[4] [17]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Companies House . Companies House . 7 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Eve's Story . The Eve Branson Foundation . 26 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161016160117/http://evebransonfoundation.org.uk/eves-story/ . 16 October 2016 . dead.
  3. News: Edward Branson . London . The Daily Telegraph . 8 May 2011 . 4 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073321/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/8501350/Edward-Branson.html . 8 April 2018 . live .
  4. News: . Vanessa Branson on family, her new memoir and why her brother Richard is no 'wizened tycoon' . 14 May 2020 . 28 August 2022 . Law . Katie .
  5. News: Vanessa Branson: Aiming to outshine her famous brother . Independent . Phillips . Caroline . 3 October 2005 . 26 August 2022.
  6. News: Unlocking the magic of Eilean Shona . 10 December 2021 . 25 August 2022 . Rosanna . Dodds . Financial Times.
  7. News: The Artful Lodgers on London's Portobello Road . The Washington Post . Frankel . Claire . 1 November 1987 . 26 August 2022.
  8. Book: 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U247465 . Devereux, Robert Harold Ferrers, (Born 11 April 1955), Chairman, New Forests Company Holding LTD, since 2007; Founder and Director, African Arts Trust, since 2012 . Who's Who . 2008 .
  9. News: Gleadell. Colin. It's wonderful being a patron. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112115856/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4719852/Its-Wonderful-being-a-patron.html. dead. 12 November 2012. 12 February 2019. The Daily Telegraph. 14 February 2000.
  10. Web site: El Fenn:Our history. El Fenn. 25 August 2022.
  11. News: Vanessa Branson: Marrakech Biennale interview . Financial Times . Catherine . Milner . 25 February 2014 . 26 August 2022 .
  12. Web site: Marrakech Biennale: History. Marrakech Biennale . 12 February 2019.
  13. Web site: Vanessa Branson . Bloomsbury . 1 August 2020.
  14. News: The Joy of Art . The New Indian Express . Sebastian . Shevlin . 16 February 2015 . 25 August 2022 .
  15. . 14 November 2016 . 26 August 2022 . Britain's most romantic island hideaway. Alice . Bragg .
  16. Web site: Eilean Shona Residency Royal Society of Sculptors . 25 August 2022 . sculptors.org.uk.
  17. Web site: Vanessa Branson's memoir is a perfect 1980s time capsule . . 23 May 2020 . 26 May 2020 . Cole, Olivia.

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