Career
In 1949 Parkin gained a scholarship to study fine art at Goldsmiths College, London, and then a scholarship to Brighton College of Art. After marriage she became a teacher, painting throughout this period. After a series of affairs, including a long term association with actor James Robertson Justice, when Parkin separated from her husband at the start of the 1960s she lost the desire, inspiration and passion to continue with her artwork.
To support her two daughters Parkin turned to fashion. After making hats and bags for Barbara Hulanicki at Biba, and working alongside Mary Quant, Parkin opened her own Chelsea boutique, which was featured in a Newsweek article about Swinging London. After selling the shop to business partner Terence Donovan, she founded the innovative Nova magazine in 1964. She then became fashion editor of Harpers & Queen in 1967, and The Sunday Times in 1969, before becoming Fashion Editor of the Year in 1971. After becoming a television personality in the 1970s, Parkin was banned from the BBC for swearing.
In the early 1970s Parkin wrote a 750 word outline for a novel entitled Love All. Disliked by publishers Blond & Briggs, the office secretary commented that she liked it, and it was picked up for publication. Her second more sexually oriented novel Up Tight published in 1975 was highly publicised, thanks to fashion photographer Harry Peccinotti’s cover shot of a French model wearing see-through knickers, resulting in book sellers Hatchards keeping it under the counter. After returning from living in New York city in 1980, she split from her second husband Patrick Hughes, and was again in need of funds to pay for her daughters' education. By the time of publishing her novel Breast Stroke in 1983, she had become an alcoholic. The three publications, plus various articles for men's magazines, earned her the position of 24th in Timeout magazines review of London's best erotic writers.
After publication of her autobiography "Moll" in 1993, Parkin started painting again, with her first exhibition in more than a decade at the Washington Gallery in Penarth. Much of her new work is inspired by Celtic landscapes' in particular Pontycymer, although she also found her travels in India moved her to produce more vibrantly coloured works. In October 2010, her memoirs Welcome to Mollywood were published.
In May 2011 she was a 'castaway' on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.
In May 2012 she was awarded a Civil List Pension by the Queen for her services to the arts.
Read more about this topic: Molly Parkin
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