Leonie Frieda

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Leonie Frieda (born 1956) is a Swedish-born former model, translator, and writer, working and living in the United Kingdom.

Educated in the UK, France and Germany, Ms. Frieda speaks five languages. Her first book was a biography of Catherine de' Medici for which her exhaustive research led her to Paris and the châteaux of the Loire Valley to examine extensive original sources plus read and document facts and information from thousands of letters there as well as in Florence and Rome.

Her book was published in the United Kingdom in 2004 and met with much acclaim from leading critics and newspapers. Among its achievements were:

No. 1 Biography bestseller, The Independent
No. 10 Non-Fiction bestseller, The Sunday Times
No. 4 in BBC History Magazine's "Top Ten History Book"

Published in the United States in 2005 by 4th Estate, the book received similar acclaim in the U.S. and Canada from major newspapers and literary critics such as Publishers Weekly and the American Library Association. Ms. Frieda was interviewed by numerous magazines and was a guest lecturer on Big Ideas, a TVOntario program on intellectual topics. She was also interviewed about her book on the Charlie Rose Show on nationwide PBS television. She has recently completed a two-hour show about Nostradamus and Catherine de Medici, to be aired on the History Channel in October 2007. Frieda is also working on two significant television series on the Renaissance.

Frieda lives in London with her two children by her former husband, music producer Nigel Frieda. She has finished writing her second book, a biography of Edward Horner, and a scheduled release date is awaited. ^[1], a World War I soldier and letter-writer who died in France during the Battle of Cambrai.

Frieda is continuing her biographical work and will shortly complete her Renaissance Women, 1427-1527, the turbulent tale of seven of the most famous women in Italy of their day, whose lives entwine in an epic saga of love affairs, struggles, intrigues, murders and imprisonment.

Leonie Frieda was chosen by The Guardian newspaper to provide a list [1] and outline of her choice of best biographies of historical figures as part of the newspaper's Top 10s section.