This article is about the English journalist; not to be confused with Jenny Murray or Jenn Murray.

Dame
Jenni Murray
DBE
Murray in 2011
Murray in 2011
Born
Jennifer Susan Bailey

(1950-05-12)12 May 1950
Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died 12 March 2026(2026-03-12) (aged 75)
London, England
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • broadcaster
Spouse(s)
Brian Murray
​
(m. 1971⁠–⁠1977)​
)
David Forgham-Bailey
​
​
(m. 2002)​
Children 2

Dame Jennifer Susan Forgham-Bailey (née Bailey; 12 May 1950 – 12 March 2026), known professionally as Jenni Murray, was an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour from 1987 to 2020.

Early life

Murray was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on 12 May 1950,[1] to Alvin Bailey, an electrical engineer, and Winifred Jones, a civil servant.[2] She attended Barnsley Girls' High School, a grammar school, which she left with A levels in French, English and History.[3] She earned a degree in French and Drama from the University of Hull.[4][5]

Career

Murray joined BBC Radio Bristol in 1973 before becoming a reporter and presenter for regional TV news programme South Today. She was a newsreader and later one of the presenters of the BBC's Newsnight television show for two years from 1983, before moving to BBC Radio 4 to present Today. She took over from Sue MacGregor as presenter of Woman's Hour in 1987. She presented BBC Radio 4's The Message and wrote for magazines and newspapers including The Guardian, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail. She also wrote several books on topics including women's rights, parenting and the menopause.[4][5] She hosted her final Woman's Hour on 1 October 2020.[6]

Personal life

Murray was brought up a Christian in the Church of England. At the age of 14, however, just before they visited Auschwitz concentration camp, her father revealed he was Jewish by birth from his mother Edith Field (originally Feld).[7] Murray subsequently wrote on 21 December 2022 in The Daily Mail and on Twitter:[8] "Officially I have no claim to the Jewish faith, but I feel it deeply, and have done since the age of 14 when my father revealed to me what, until then, he had kept a closely guarded secret. I am not religious, but I feel my Jewish genes. They are part of my race. They took me to Israel in my early 20s, against the advice of my parents who were afraid for me, but I wanted to know more." She spent a year working at the Frank Meisler sculpture gallery in Jaffa. She also wrote of her abhorrence of racism: "young people need to understand the history of slavery and how it influences modern racism, they need to understand what lay behind the Holocaust and how it continues to affect the Jewish population."

She married her first husband, Brian Murray, aged 21; their marriage ended after six years.[9] She later began a relationship David Forgham, with whom she had two sons and ultimately married in 2002.[9][10][11]

Views on transgender people

In March 2017, Murray published an article in The Sunday Times headlined "Be trans, be proud – but don't call yourself a 'real woman'."[12][13] The resulting controversy led her to cancel a scheduled Oxford University History Society presentation in November 2018.[14][15] The following month, the University of Hull announced it was revisiting plans to name a lecture theatre after Murray amid protests; the university's Student President team released a statement reading, "We oppose the naming of a lecture theatre after Jenni Murray. We do not believe that someone who holds these views should be presented as a role model to students."[16]

In a 2020 article for the Daily Mail Murray said that the BBC had banned her from chairing "any discussions on the trans question or the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act" following her departure from Woman's Hour.[17] In November 2023, Murray signed an open letter from Sex Matters urging the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, "to take urgent action to halt an escalating campaign of violence and intimidation against women in the name of 'trans rights'".[18]

Health issues

In December 2006 Murray announced, at the end of Woman's Hour, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.[19] She informed her audience that her prognosis was good and she did indeed return early in 2007. She reported that the most emotionally upsetting moment was losing her hair and used this as an item on the centrality of hair to definitions of femininity.[20] In 2020 Murray announced that she would demonstrate proper self-breast examination techniques on The Real Full Monty on Ice television programme, alongside Linda Lusardi and Hayley Tamaddon.[21]

Murray was vocal and visible in the media with regard to her own experience of menopause, HRT and the importance of raising awareness of this aspect of women's health in the workplace and more generally.[22][23][24]

In 2008 Murray had a hip replacement following avascular necrosis.[25] She had a sleeve gastrectomy in June 2015 and had lost more than 4 stone (56 lb; 25 kg) by October that year.[26]

Death

Murray died on 12 March 2026 at the age of 75.[27][28] Her death was announced a week later, with a tribute paid to her from Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, who described her as a "broadcasting icon" and said that in her work on Woman's Hour she "created a safe space for her audience thanks to her warmth, intelligence and courage", adding, "Her legacy endures in the countless conversations she started, the many issues she championed and the lives she touched."[29][30]

Honours

Murray was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to broadcasting in 1999 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours.[31][32] In 2007 Murray was awarded a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) honorary degree from the University of St Andrews in recognition of her major contribution to broadcasting, journalism and writing.[33]

In March 2012 Murray was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Salford for contributions to the media industry and to the growing links between the University and its neighbours at Salford Quays.[34] In November 2019 Murray was awarded a Doctor of Letters from the University of Chester for outstanding contribution to journalism and broadcasting.[35]

Charities

In November 2007 it was announced Murray had been named patron of British medical research charity Breast Cancer Campaign.[36] She was also patron of the Family Planning Association, vice-president of Parkinson's UK and a supporter of Humanists UK.[37]

Bibliography

  • Woman's Hour, 50 years of British Women (1996)[38]
  • That's My Boy (2003)[39]
  • Is It Me, or Is It Hot in Here?: A Modern Woman's Guide to the Menopause (2003)[40]
  • Memoirs of a Not So Dutiful 'Daughter' (2009)[41]
  • Ten Poems About Dogs (2011)[42]
  • My Boy Butch: The heart-warming true story of a little dog who made life worth living again (2011)[citation needed]
  • A History of Britain in 21 Women (2016)[43]
  • Woman's Hour: Words from Wise, Witty and Wonderful Women[4] (2017)
  • A History of the World in 21 Women: A Personal Selection (2018)[44]
  • Votes For Women!: The Pioneers and Heroines of Female Suffrage (2018)[45]
  • Fat Cow, Fat Chance: The Science and Psychology of Size (2020)[46]

References

  1. ^ "Birthdays today". The Telegraph. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2014. Ms Jenni Murray, broadcaster, 61
  2. ^ "Dame Jenni Murray obituary: presenter of Woman's Hour for 33 years". The Times. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Dame Jenni Murray obituary: presenter of Woman's Hour for 33 years". The Times. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Jenni Murray". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Jenni Murray". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Woman's House: Dame Jenni Murray signs off with feminist anthem". BBC News. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  7. ^ "In-depth interview with Jenni Murray".
  8. ^ @whjm (21 December 2022). "Why am I so wary to talk about my Jewish heritage?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b "The Observer profile: Jenni Murray". The Guardian. 24 December 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. ^ Murray, Jenni (15 July 2008). "Jenni Murray: 'I've joined the hip-op generation'" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  11. ^ MacErlean, Neasa (13 February 2005). "My reluctant wedding to avoid losing our home". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  12. ^ Jenni Murray (2017). "Be trans, be proud — but don't call yourself a "real woman"". Sunday Times.
  13. ^ Kennedy, Maev (5 March 2017). "Jenni Murray: trans women shouldn't call themselves 'real women'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Jenni Murray pulls out of Oxford talk amid trans row". 8 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Radio 4 host cancels talk amid trans row". BBC News. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Jenni Murray: University of Hull to review theatre name change amid trans row". BBC. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Jenni Murray blasts BBC for silencing her on trans issue". www.christian.org.uk. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Prime Minister, will you stand up to violence against women?". Sex Matters. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Radio 4's Jenni Murray has cancer". BBC News. 21 December 2006.
  20. ^ "Woman's Hour, 27 February 2007". BBC. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  21. ^ "Dame Jenni Murray on why she's taking her clothes off on TV". BBC News. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  22. ^ Murray, Jenni (2003). Is it me, or is it hot in here? : a modern woman's guide to the menopause. London: Vermilion. ISBN 0-09-188777-1. OCLC 51741029.
  23. ^ Murray, Jenni (1 June 2017). "Jenni Murray: 'If I knew what I know now about HRT I would never have taken it'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  24. ^ "HRT won't kill you - but menopausal women still face a difficult decision". The Guardian. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Jenni Murray: 'I've joined the hip-op generation'". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  26. ^ "Jenni Murray: 'I had 75% of my stomach removed". BBC News. 21 October 2015.
  27. ^ "'We all owe her': Tributes paid to much-loved broadcaster". Sky News. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  28. ^ "Former BBC Woman's Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray dies at 75". BBC News. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  29. ^ "Tributes to Dame Jenni Murray". BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  30. ^ "Dame Jenni Murray, former BBC presenter, dies aged 75". ITV. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  31. ^ "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2011. p. 7.
  32. ^ "Main list of the 2011 Queen's birthday honours recipients" (PDF). BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  33. ^ "Honorary graduates". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  34. ^ "University of Salford". University of Salford. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  35. ^ "University of Chester". University of Chester. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Article from". radiotoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  37. ^ "Dame Jenni Murray". British Humanist Association. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  38. ^ "The Woman's hour : 50 years of women in Britain / Jenni Murray". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  39. ^ Murray, Jenni (3 July 2003). "That's My Boy". Penguin Books. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  40. ^ "Is It Me, or Is It Hot in Here?". blackwells.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  41. ^ Murray, Jenni (26 April 2018). "Memoirs Of A Not So Dutiful Daughter". Penguin Books. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  42. ^ "Ten Poems about Dogs by Jenni Murray". toppingbooks.imgix.net. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  43. ^ "History of Britain in 21 Women : A Personal Selection". Rare Birds Books. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  44. ^ "A History of the World in 21 Women". 6 September 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  45. ^ "Votes For Women!". 5 February 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  46. ^ Cooke, Rachel (12 July 2020). "Fat Cow, Fat Chance by Jenni Murray review – well meaning but haphazard". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
logo
Wikiquote has quotations related to Jenni Murray.