Who Is Mary Whitehouse? Age, Biography and Wiki
Mary Whitehouse was born on June 13, 1910, and passed away on November 23, 2001. In 2025, she would have been 115 years old. Whitehouse was a prominent British conservative activist and a notable figure in the fight for moral values in media. Known for her controversial stances, she advocated against what she considered the deterioration of morality in British television and cinema. She founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVLA) in 1965, which became a platform for her campaigns against explicit content.
| Occupation | Activists |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | June 13, 1910 |
| Age | 91 Years |
| Birth Place | Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | England |
| Date of death | 23 November, 2001 |
| Died Place | Colchester, Essex, England |
Popularity
Mary Whitehouse's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Mary Whitehouse was known for her strong presence rather than her physical attributes. While there are no documented records of her height and weight, her commanding personality often overshadowed typical measurements. She portrayed a robust figure as a persistent advocate for her causes throughout her life.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Mary Whitehouse was married to Ernest Whitehouse in 1934, and they remained together until her death in 2001. Together, they had three children: a son and two daughters. There are no public records or indications of any relationships outside of her marriage. Her commitment to her family and her beliefs defined much of her personal and social life.
(In her autobiography, she claimed that the house later became a sex shop). She was the second of four children of a "less-than-successful businessman" and a "necessarily resourceful mother".
She won a scholarship to Chester City Grammar School, where she was keen on hockey and tennis, and after leaving she did two years of unpaid apprentice teaching at St John's School in Chester, Cheshire.
At the Cheshire County Teacher Training College in Crewe, specialising in secondary school art teaching, she was involved with the Student Christian Movement before qualifying in 1932. She became an art teacher at Lichfield Road School in Wednesfield, where she stayed for eight years, and at Brewood Grammar School, both in Staffordshire.
Net Worth and Salary
While specific figures regarding Mary Whitehouse's net worth at the time of her death are not readily available, her lifetime of activism and public presence likely afforded her a modest financial standing. She earned income through her writing, public speaking engagements, and the initiatives she led in the media landscape. In modern times, her estate might be evaluated as a contribution to her legacy rather than direct monetary earnings.
Career, Business and Investments
Mary Whitehouse's career was primarily centered around her activism. She authored several books and articles that reflected her beliefs and the campaigns she led. Her most notable achievements include the establishment of the NVLA, which worked to encourage better standards in broadcasting. Although she was often met with criticism, her contributions to media regulation are recognized as being significant during a transformative period in British media. Today, her influence can be seen in ongoing debates about censorship and the responsibilities of broadcasters.
Constance Mary Whitehouse (13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permissive society.
She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, through which she led a longstanding campaign against the BBC. A hard-line social conservative, she was termed a reactionary by her socially liberal opponents.
Her motivation derived from her Christian beliefs, her aversion to the rapid social and political changes in British society of the 1960s, and her work as a teacher of sex education.
Social Network
In her lifetime, Mary Whitehouse was a prominent public figure with a considerable following. While she did not have social media accounts as we know them today, she utilized print media and television appearances to reach her audience effectively. Today, discussions about her impact can be found across various platforms, reflecting her historical significance in British culture.
The National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (later known as Mediawatch-UK) was launched to succeed CUTV in November 1965, with Whitehouse's then home in Claverley, Shropshire, hosting its first office, replacing what they themselves perceived as CUTV's negativity with an active campaign for legislative change.
The former cabinet minister Bill Deedes, later editor of The Daily Telegraph, supported the group in that period and was the leading speaker at NVALA's founding conference in Birmingham on 30 April 1966, and acted as a contact between his parliamentary colleagues and Whitehouse.
Quintin Hogg, better known as Lord Hailsham, was another high-profile politician who gave his support to NVALA and Whitehouse at that time.
Education
Mary Whitehouse attended Hanley High School and pursued further studies at the Church of England Teachers' Training College. Her education allowed her to enhance her skills, which she later utilized in her activism and writing. Her strong convictions were often fueled by her education and personal philosophy regarding morality and society.
Whitehouse became an art teacher, at the same time becoming involved in evangelical Christian groups such as the Student Christian Movement (which became increasingly more liberal leading up to, and after, a 1928 split with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) and Moral Re-Armament.
She became a public figure via the Clean-Up TV pressure group, established in 1964, in which she was the most prominent figure.
The following year she founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, using it as a platform to criticise the BBC for what she perceived as a lack of accountability and excessive use of bad language and portrayals of sex and violence in its programmes.
During the 1970s she broadened her activities and was a leading figure in the Nationwide Festival of Light, a Christian campaign that gained mass support for a period. She initiated a successful private prosecution against Gay News on the grounds of blasphemous libel, the first such case for more than 50 years.
Another private prosecution was against the director of the play The Romans in Britain, which had been performed at the National Theatre.
