Ann Helen "Bobo" Faulkner (; 2 January 1941 – 14 December 2014) was an English model, television personality, and interior designer.

Early life

She was born Ann Helen Minchin in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England, where her father was the headmaster of

Shaftesbury Grammar School Shaftesbury School is a coeducational Secondary school, secondary day school located in Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset. Previously a Voluntary controlled school, voluntary controlled Church of England school administered by the Di ...

. Leaving school at 15, she moved to London as a secretary for a prestigious firm. In London, she met and married the Australian actor

Trader Faulkner Ronald "Trader" Faulkner (7 September 1927 – 14 April 2021) was an Australian actor, raconteur and flamenco dancer, best known for his work in the UK on the stage and television. Early life Faulkner was born in Manly, Australia, the son of ...

, who gave her the nickname "Bobo" by which she went for the rest of her life. In 1966, the couple had a daughter, Sasha. Bobo moved to Australia in 1968 with her daughter after she was invited to take part in fashion parades as a model.

Media career in Australia

In June 1968, Faulkner was hired by

GTV9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

to co-host

breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...

program, ''Today'', with Mike Walsh. She also wrote a newspaper column for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', and hosted ''Bobo's Late Show'' in which she introduced the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

's midnight movie. In 1973, she made a documentary for ABC-TV called ''See It My Way – The Polysaturated Male'', in which she called for the "liberation" of men from the demands and stereotypes placed upon them. In the early 1970s, she made some acting appearances in such programs as police drama ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'' and the comedy series ''

The Group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...

''. After her separation from Faulkner, she had a relationship with the Australian publicist Harry M. Miller, which ended after Miller claimed she had spread some gossip concocted by himself and

Clyde Packer Robert Clyde Packer (22 July 19358 April 2001), usually known as Clyde Packer, was the son of Australian newspaper magnate Frank Packer and the elder brother of media baron Kerry Packer. From 23 April 1964 to 22 April 1976, he was a member of t ...

to test her discretion.

England and San Francisco

She later met and married Sydney businessman Ralph Rosenblum, and in 1978, they returned to her native England where Faulkner studied writing at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1984, Faulkner and Rosenblum emigrated to the United States where they lived in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

and founded Vogue Interiors, a successful chain of furniture design stores for which Faulkner worked as an interior designer and spokesperson. In 1998, Rosenblum and Faulkner separated and she became an interior designer and businesswoman in her own right owning "Couch Casting" of Burlingame. In 2000, she married again to Robin Lyon Lakin (1938-2016), Anglo-Australian great-grandson of cement manufacturer Sir Michael Henry Lakin, 1st Baronet.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2226''Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage'' An

Old Etonian Eton College ( ) is a public school providing boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated prime ministers, world leaders, Nobel laureates, Academy Award and BAFTA ...

and lieutenant in the

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

, Lakin had first met Faulkner in the 1960s in London. In 2003, he was forced for health reasons to return to Australia. Due to immigration impediments on both sides of the Pacific to any permanent reunion, the couple decided to separate, Faulkner returning to her native England in 2004. She settled in the village of Grayswood and was married for the fourth time to Mike Brown who died in 2007. Faulkner returned to study, taking a two-year course in counselling at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

. She died in December 2014, ten months after being diagnosed with cancer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Bobo 1941 births 2014 deaths English female models Australian television presenters British emigrants Immigrants to Australia Immigrants to the United States Deaths from cancer in England Australian women television presenters British women television presenters Models from Dorset