When she was 8 she represented Yorkshire in a child's version of the radio programme Round Britain Quiz.
[2] When she was fourteen she had to take bed rest for a year to cure a kidney infection, despite this she became head girl and won a scholarship to attend the London School of Economics.
[1] Having earned her Economics degree she joined the marketing department of the consumer company Procter & Gamble.
The following year she was sponsored by Woman magazine to drive an Austin Maxi in the World Cup rally through Europe and South America.
[3] She combined her interests and skills and took work as a senior manager in the British automotive industry.
After the 1997 general election, she served as the Conservative opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in the House of Lords.