Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen

The daughter of a British Diplomat, Jackie was educated in Germany, London and at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She graduated from Manchester University in 1987 with an honours degree in French Studies and worked for London party planners until starting her own business as one of the UK's first professional wedding organisers. A regular on daytime television shows as the resident wedding expert and contributor to various wedding publications, in 1993 Jackie wrote Debrett's Wedding Guide - the planning and etiquette of a modern wedding, reprinted in 1994 and again in 1999. Since 2000 Jackie has turned her business acumen to running Llewelyn-Bowen Limited and the many commercial ventures she and Laurence are involved with. Among these is a range of luxury wedding packages for Beachcomber Hotels in Mauritius and the Seychelles. In 2006, Jackie co-authored A Pinch of Posh with Laurence (Collins) and she has appeared alongside Laurence in the series Laurence and Jackie's Northern Exposure for BBC Northern Ireland and To the Manor Bowen for Living TV. Whilst supporting many charities by patronage and ambassadorship, Jackie also brings her own particular energy to a variety of fund-raising initiatives across a wide range of causes from local to national and international. In 2006 she and Laurence became the (still unbeaten) highest earning celebrity couple on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? winning £500,000 for The Shooting Star Children's Hospice. With Care International she and Laurence visited the cyclone-devastated South West of Bangladesh in February 2008 to see first-hand the work of the charity and bring it to the attention of the British media. In 2009 she completed the 26.2 mile London Moonwalk in aid of breast cancer charities and a further 10 mile Moonwalk a month later for Cotswold Care Hospice. She also took to the stage to sing jazz in a concert organised by group of musicians compelled to raise funds after reading her published articles on the trip to Bangladesh. Whether cutting ribbons, decorating events, hosting fund raisers, patting children or animals, cooking, singing, walking or simply speaking, Jackie is dedicated, passionate, energetic and formidable. As Laurence has so eloquently put 'Jackie is a hard woman to refuse'.