The minted Green Goddess
Q What did your parents teach you about money?
A TO be frugal and only have what I could afford. I was brought up in a slightly Victorian way by an incredibly strict father. Sadly, my mother died of a cerebral haemorrhage when I was young – I came home from school and found her dead. We were middle class, but I was never spoilt or given handouts and presents. My father worked as a director for an oil company, so it was not that money was tight. It was just that he was frugal.
For instance, I was a talented tennis player, but I had to borrow all my equipment from friends and my school. I do not hold his approach against him. What he taught me about money has stood me in good stead although I have not been as tight with my sons and grandchildren as he was with me.
Q How much pocket money did you get as a child?
A SIXPENCE (2.5p new money) once a week from age eight. I would spend it on Penguin biscuits and lemon sherbets. I loved sweets – they were special because they were rationed after the war.
Q What was the first paid work you ever did?
A WHEN I was 16, I got paid £2.50 a week to be the general dogsbody in a department store.
Q Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
A YES, in 1987 when I was treated for breast cancer at age 48. At the time, I was known as the ‘Green Goddess’ because I did fitness exercises on BBC1’s Breakfast Time programme in a green leotard. But I had to have drastic surgery to get rid of the cancer – a bilateral mastectomy, followed by reconstruction – so for a long time I could not work.
I still had bills to pay, though, and I was self-employed. That meant it was a difficult time financially as well as emotionally. No one knew why I had suddenly disappeared from TV because I would not tell anybody. You did not talk about cancer in those days so I kept it a secret. Thank goodness I had saved like my father had taught me.
Q How did you turn your fortunes around?
A THE press started asking where the ‘Green Goddess’ was and my agent said I had to tell people what was going on. So I turned the diary I had been writing into a book. It became an instant bestseller because nobody had spoken openly about cancer before.
Q Have you ever been paid silly money for a job?
A YES. After the cancer I was even more high profile so I would be asked to do openings of new stores in my green leotard. I would get paid thousands of pounds for a few minutes to cut a ribbon and smile for photographs.
Q What was the best year of your life in terms of the money you made?
A IT was 1998, the first year I was the face of Oil of Ulay – the brand which is now called Oil of Olay. I auditioned with no make-up and ended up starring in several commercials for them over three years. Boy, I made a huge amount – hundreds of thousands of pounds. So much, in fact, I bought a house and called it ‘Ulay’.
Q What is the biggest money mistake you have ever made?
A I HAVE lost a couple of thousand pounds following bad advice so I would say my biggest mistake is trusting other people on what to do with my money.
Q What is the best money decision you have made?
A BUYING a two-bedroom flat by the river in Battersea, South-West London, in 1995 for less than £100,000. I sold it for £200,000 four years later.
Q Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
A I DID both when I was younger. I started saving into a pension when I was 19. I have also played the stock market a bit. When I was in my 30s I watched the markets all the time for five years and loved picking stocks. It gave me a buzz and I was quite good at it. I invested in media companies that were just starting up and my choices stood me in good stead for years. I have sold them all now though.
Q Do you own any property?
A YES. I live by the River Thames on the outskirts of London in a three-bed townhouse – the one I called ‘Ulay’. I bought it 19 years ago and it has doubled in value. It has been an excellent investment but most importantly it has given me security. A TAKING my friends and family out for meals. Not somewhere expensive, just so we can have a good chat. I probably spend £15 per person each time and that is what a lot of my disposable income goes on.
Q If you were Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the first thing you would do? Q What is your one little luxury you like to treat yourself to?
A I WOULD review what is going on in the care system and increase funding for social care, nursing homes and hospices.
Q Do you think it is important to give to charity?
A I THINK it is incredibly important. I do prefer to give to charities I know something about and causes which have touched my own life. At the moment I am supporting The Great Daffodil Appeal – which is Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign.
Q What is your number one financial priority?
A I WANT to stay financially and physically independent. Until the end.