Mary Berry

Mary Berry has been married to Paul John March Hunnings since 1966. They have three children, Thomas, William and Annabel. Thomas became a tree surgeon, while Annabel trained as a chef and worked with her mother on business projects.

William died in a car accident in 1989 at the age of 19. Berry has spoken about the lasting effect of his death and her memories of the joy he brought to the family. She also contracted polio at the age of 13 and spent three months in hospital, an illness that left her with a twisted spine and a weaker left hand and arm.

Berry developed her interest in cooking at school, where domestic science teacher Miss Date encouraged her abilities. She studied catering at Bath College of Domestic Science and later trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Her early jobs included demonstrating electric ovens for the Bath Electricity Board, testing recipes for a public-relations firm and working as a food editor for Housewife and Ideal Home magazines.

Her first cookbook, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, was published in 1970. She later opened a cooking school, launched a range of salad dressings and sauces with her daughter Annabel, and presented programmes including Mary Berry Cooks, Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites, Mary Berry's Country House Secrets and Mary Berry's Simple Comforts.

Berry became one of the judges on The Great British Bake Off in 2010, working alongside baker Paul Hollywood. Their judging partnership became a defining part of the programme's original BBC run, and Berry also appeared with Hollywood in Bake Off masterclasses that recreated the contestants' challenges.

She left the programme in 2016 when its broadcast moved from the BBC to Channel 4, while Hollywood stayed with the show. Berry subsequently judged Britain's Best Home Cook, Celebrity Best Home Cook and the American series The Great Holiday Baking Show.

Berry has written more than 70 cookery books, beginning with The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook and later publishing Baking Bible in 2009. Her autobiography, Recipe for Life, was published in 2013. Her recipes have also been made available through the interactive app Mary Berry: In Mary We Trust.

Her television work has included The Mary Berry Story, Mary Berry's Easter Feast, Mary Berry's Fantastic Feasts, Mary Berry Cook and Share, Mary Makes It Easy and a series of Christmas programmes. In 2022, she chaired and judged the Platinum Pudding Competition, which was created for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

Berry was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2012 for services to the culinary arts and received an honorary degree from Bath Spa University that year. She was given the Freedom of the City of Bath in 2014 and became a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers later that year.

She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2020 for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity, receiving the honour at Windsor Castle in 2021. Berry became president of the National Garden Scheme in 2016 and is a patron of Child Bereavement UK.