Lady Colin Campbell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lady Colin Campbell
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Campbell in 2013
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| Born |
George William Ziadie
17 August 1949 St Andrew, Colony of Jamaica
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| Other names | Georgia Arianna Ziadie |
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| Alma mater | Fashion Institute of Technology |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) |
Lord Colin Campbell
(m. 1974; div. 1975) |
| Children | 2 (adopted) |
| Relatives | Sir Peter Jonas (cousin) |
| Family |
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Georgia Arianna Campbell, Lady Colin Campbell (born 17 August 1949), often called Lady C, is a British Jamaican author, socialite, and television star. She is known for writing seven books about the British royal family. Her books include biographies of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
Lady C was born in Jamaica into the Ziadie family, a well-known family of Lebanese heritage. Her father was a wealthy department store owner. Due to a medical condition at birth, doctors advised her family to raise her as a boy, even though she was biologically female.
As a young adult, she moved to New York City to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked as a model. In 1970, at age 21, she had corrective surgery. She then legally changed her name from George William Ziadie to Georgia Arianna Ziadie.
In the United States, she met and married Lord Colin Ivar Campbell. He was the son of the 11th Duke of Argyll. The marriage was short, and they divorced after about 15 months.
Besides writing about the royals, Lady C has appeared on many reality TV shows. These include I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Celebs Go Dating, and Celebs on the Farm. She is also the owner of Castle Goring in Worthing, a historic castle in England.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Lady Colin Campbell was born in Jamaica on 17 August 1949. She was one of four children of Michael George Ziadie, who owned a department store, and Gloria Dey. Her family, the Ziadies, became successful in Jamaica after moving from Lebanon.
A Challenging Childhood
At birth, Campbell had a physical condition that affected her development. At the time, doctors believed it was best to raise her as a boy. Although she had a happy family life, she later wrote about the difficulties of being raised as a boy when she was a girl.
When she was 21, her grandmother found out about her situation and gave her the money needed for corrective surgery in 1970. After the surgery, she legally changed her name to Georgia Arianna Ziadie and got a new birth certificate. She wrote in her autobiography, "No one ever faced the knife more eagerly than I."
Before her surgery, she had already moved to New York City to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology and began a career as a model.
Marriage and Title
On 23 March 1974, after knowing him for only five days, she married Lord Colin Ivar Campbell. He was the younger son of the 11th Duke of Argyll. Through this marriage, she gained the title "Lady Colin Campbell."
She said he had a very strong and charming personality. However, their marriage did not last long. They separated after nine months and divorced after 14 months. The divorce was difficult, and she later sued several newspapers that printed untrue stories about her.
In 1993, Lady C adopted two boys from Russia, Michael and Dimitri. In 2013, she bought Castle Goring, a historic country house in Worthing, Sussex. The castle was once the family home of the famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Career as a Writer
Lady C is most famous for her books about the British royal family.
Her 1992 book, Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows, shared details about Princess Diana's life, including her struggle with bulimia and her friendship with James Hewitt. At first, many people did not believe her claims, but some were later proven to be true. The book became a bestseller on The New York Times Best Seller list.
She also wrote books like The Royal Marriages and The Untold Life of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her book about the Queen Mother was controversial. Some historians called her ideas "bizarre" and "complete nonsense."
In 2020, she published Meghan and Harry: The Real Story, which discussed the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Her other books include one about her mother and another about Queen Elizabeth II's marriage.
Television Appearances
Lady C has appeared on many British television shows, making her a well-known personality.
In November 2015, she was a contestant on the popular show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She left the show early for medical reasons. She later said she felt she was bullied by other contestants.
In 2016, a documentary called Lady C and the Castle was shown on ITV. The show followed her as she worked to fix up her historic castle to host weddings. She has also appeared on shows like Salvage Hunters and Through the Keyhole, where cameras toured her home, Castle Goring.
More recently, she has been on reality shows like Celebs Go Dating in 2019 and Celebs on the Farm in 2021.
Health
In late 2016, Campbell became very ill with sepsis, a serious medical condition, but she recovered.
Selected Books
- A Life Worth Living (Autobiography)
- The Empress of Thieves
- Daughter of a Narcissus (A book about her mother)
- A Dog's Life (Written from the point of view of her dog)
- Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows
- The Royal Marriages: What Really Goes on in the Private World of the Queen and Her Family
- The Real Diana
- The Untold Life of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
- The Queen's Marriage
- Meghan and Harry: The Real Story
