Portal:West Sussex/Selected biography/2

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Dame Anita Perella Roddick, DBE (b. 23 October 1942, Littlehampton, Sussex, England) is the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics company dedicated to producing and retailing ethical beauty products. She founded The Body Shop in Littlehampton, England in 1976.

She was born to an Italian immigrant family. Her mother ran a café, and was in the habit of recycling. After leaving school, Anita trained as a teacher at Bath College of Higher Education - now Bath Spa University and travelled widely before her mother introduced her to Gordon Roddick, whom she married in 1970. The couple opened a restaurant, followed by a hotel. By the time they married, they already had one child and were expecting another.