Nigella was born in 1960 into a family of privilege and wealth: her father was to become chancellor and her mother was an heiress. She began her career at the Sunday Times and Spectator, writing on books and restaurants. In 1992 she and fellow journalist John Diamond were married in secret in Venice. When nine-months pregnant with her first child, daughter Cosima, Nigella's younger sister Thomasina died of breast cancer, aged 32. Nigella joined Vogue as their food writer, and a second child followed: Bruno. When he was 6 months old Nigella learned that her husband had throat cancer. John Diamond wrote powerfully of his illness in a column in the Times and then in a bestselling book. Nigella published her first book: How to Eat, and appeared on TV with friend Nigel Slater. In 1997 she lost her husband. Despite such tragedy Nigella has gone on to achieve huge success, with her bestselling book How to be a Domestic Goddess, the TV show Nigella Bites in the UK and US, and columns in the Times and Observer. With her unashamed enjoyment for food and her curvy beauty, Nigella continues to fascinate and beguile.