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Scarlett Curtis

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Scarlett Curtis
BornScarlett Kate Freud Curtis
(1995-06-21) 21 June 1995 (age 29)
London, England
OccupationWriter
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Notable worksFeminists Don't Wear Pink & Other Lies
Notable awardsYoung Adult Book of the Year 2018
National Book Award
Parents
Relatives
Website
scarlettcurtis.com

Scarlett Kate Freud Curtis (born 21 June 1995) is an English activist and writer.

Biography

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Curtis was born on 21 June 1995 in London. She is the daughter of screenwriter Richard Curtis and broadcaster Emma Freud. In 2003, she made a brief cameo in her father's film Love Actually, playing Lobster Number 2 in the school nativity concert.[1] She began her career as a blogger and has written for The Guardian, Elle magazine, The Times and The Telegraph.[2] Curtis was the Sunday Times Style 'Gen-Z' columnist from 2016 to 2018.[3]

Activism

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In 2017, Curtis founded feminist activist collective The Pink Protest. The Pink Protest and Amika George organised the #FreePeriods campaign to fight period poverty.[4] They have also campaigned with anti-female genital mutilation activist Nimco Ali and The Five Foundation to successfully include female genital mutilation in the Children Act (1989).[5]

Appearing on Good Morning Britain in 2018 together with fiction author Adele Parks, Curtis suggested that Disney films and fairy tales should be rewritten, saying that they represent an "unrealistic expectation" of life and that Aladdin was racist.[6] Parks disagreed with Curtis on the show, saying that she "wouldn’t want our history rewritten."[7]

Publications

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In 2018, Curtis curated the Penguin anthology Feminists Don't Wear Pink & Other Lies, a collection of essays by 52 women on what feminism means to them, featuring essays by Keira Knightley, Alaa Murabit, Saoirse Ronan and others. All royalties from the book went to the United Nations Foundation charity Girl Up.[8][9] Feminists Don't Wear Pink & other lies became a Sunday Times bestseller for two consecutive weeks after publication.[10] The book also won the 2018 National Book Award for Young Adult Book of the Year[11] and was nominated for a 2019 British Book Award.[12] The book hit national headlines when Topshop proprietor Sir Philip Green dismantled a promotional display in the branch at Oxford Circus, London.[13][14] Curtis launched the hashtag #PinkNotGreen following the event.[15] She is also the host of the Feminists Don't Wear Pink podcast.[16]

In October 2021, it was reported that an anthology television show based on the book and titled Girls Can't Shoot (& Other Lies) will be produced by Mark Gordon Pictures and executive produced by Curtis and Saoirse Ronan. [17] The announced cast includes Beanie Feldstein, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Kat Dennings, Jameela Jamil and Lolly Adefope.

In 2019, Curtis curated the Penguin anthology It's Not OK to Feel Blue & Other Lies, a collection of essays by 74 people on what mental health means to them.[18] In November 2019, Curtis was presented with the second annual Changemaker Award for young activists by Equality Now.[19]

Recognition

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She was recognised as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2019.[20]

References

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  1. ^ “Keira Knightkey opens up about her battle with PTSD and talks new film Colette”. The Times. (subscription required). Retrieved 29 December 2020
  2. ^ Marine, Brooke (24 July 2018). "Who Is Scarlett Curtis, Saoirse Ronan's Activist Best Friend?". W Magazine.
  3. ^ "Scarlett Curtis | The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
  4. ^ George, Amika (8 January 2019). "Girls are still missing school because of period poverty. There is an answer | Amika George". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  5. ^ "#EndFGM | Nimco Ali | Pink Protest | Alice Aedy". www.msn.com.
  6. ^ Desborough, Jenny (19 October 2018). "Feminist sparks fury for calling Aladdin 'racist' and wanting fairytale rewrites". mirror. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Good Morning Britain divides viewers by asking if Disney movies should be banned". Entertainment Daily. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ Pulver, Andrew (5 October 2018). "Gemma Arterton and Keira Knightley write hardhitting pieces for feminist collection". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  9. ^ "Feminists don't wear pink". Oh Comely. 9 October 2018.
  10. ^ Times, The Sunday (21 October 2018). "Books: The Sunday Times Bestsellers, October 21" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  11. ^ "All the winners from the 2018 National Book Awards". Evening Standard. 21 November 2018.
  12. ^ "The British Book Awards: 2019 Books of the Year Shortlists". Publishing Perspectives. 22 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Topshop removes feminist book display '20 mins after it was set up'". Evening Standard. 5 October 2018.
  14. ^ Marsh, Sarah (5 October 2018). "Topshop's Philip Green under fire over axing of feminist book display". The Guardian.
  15. ^ McCarthy, John. "Topshop 'sorry' for abruptly dismantling partner's feminist pop-up book stall". The Drum. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  16. ^ "New podcast Feminists Don't Wear Pink is the voice of Gen Z feminism". Evening Standard. 19 October 2018.
  17. ^ Kroll, Justin (18 October 2021). "Mark Gordon Pictures Sets Beanie Feldstein, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Kat Dennings, Jameela Jamil And Lolly Adefope To Star In Anthology TV Series". Deadline. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  18. ^ Spicer, Kate (1 October 2019). "Scarlett Curtis: 'There's a long line of very dodgy men in my family'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Make Equality Reality Gala 2019". www.equalitynow.org. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  20. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
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