[1] The daughter of James and Harriet Rowe-Hunter, she was educated at Cahir School, Ireland.
From 1942 to 1944, Nicol was a clerical officer of the Inland Revenue and Inspector of the Admiralty from 1944 to 1948.
[3] In the House of Lords, she was Opposition Whip and Baroness in Waiting from 1983 to 1989 and Deputy Speaker from 1995 to 2002.
Baroness Nicol was member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee from 1982 to 1988 and of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) from 1998 to 2000.
[citation needed] She was married to Alexander Douglas Ian Nicol from 1947 until his death in 2009; they had two sons and one daughter.