Gabriele Annan, Baroness Annan (née Ullstein, 1921–2013), was a German-born British author and literary and film critic, and the wife of the military intelligence officer, author, and academic Noel Annan, Baron Annan.

Early life

She was born Gabriele Ullstein in Berlin, on 25 November 1921 in Berlin, the daughter of Louis-Ferdinand Ullstein (1863–1933), one of five Jewish brothers who owned a large newspaper, magazine, and book publishing business, and his wife Martha Ullstein, née Joel (1889–1974). She was the only child from her father's second marriage, and until the age of 11, lived in a mansion in the Grünewald, now the British Ambassador's Berlin residence. She was educated at a progressive boarding school in England, and earned a degree in modern languages from

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

Career

After the war, she was a member of the Cambridge Ladies ski team, shared a London flat with Mary Blewett, and worked in advertising, coming up with the slogan, "All the Boy Scouts at their Jamborees/eat lashings of Batchelors wonderful peas." Annan wrote literary criticism for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' and ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

''. She was an early advocate for the work of

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most cr ...

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

and

Alan Hollinghurst Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize. Early life and education H ...

. She was a film critic for ''The Spectator'' and the '' Sunday Telegraph'', until in 1987, they asked her for a review of the third

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

movie, '

The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland ''The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland'' is a 1987 animated musical fantasy film and the third theatrically released film in the Care Bears franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987, by Cineplex Odeon Films, ...

''.

Personal life

She met her future husband when she was a graduate student at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, the British military intelligence officer, author, and academic Noel Annan, Baron Annan (1916-2000). They married on 30 June 1950, and had two daughters, Lucy, born in 1952, and Juliet, born in 1955.

Later life

She died on 12 November 2013, of heart failure, at her flat in

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgra ...

, London, and was survived by her two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annan, Gabriele 1921 births 2013 deaths British baronesses British film critics British women film critics British literary critics British women literary critics Spouses of life peers The New York Review of Books people German emigrants to the United Kingdom