Mary Berry

One of the most celebrated cooks in England, Mary Berry first realized her talents in the kitchen through the encouragement of a high school domestic science teacher. Born in Bath, England, Berry was by her own words "hopeless" academically, but when her remarkable abilities as a cook became apparent, she began pursuing them with determination. After studying at Bath College of Domestic Science, her first job was for the Bath electricity board showroom, for which she would visit customers' homes and demonstrate an oven by baking a Victoria Sponge. She next took a job at the Dutch Dairy Bureau, whom she eventually convinced to pay for her further education at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Berry would go on to become the food editor for Housewife magazine in 1966 and later, Ideal Home magazine in 1970. That same year that saw her publish her first book, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook. It would prove to be the first of over 75 cookbooks that Berry would publish over the course of her career. She would also branch out into television, co-hosting "After Noon Plus" (BBC, 1971-78) from 1971 to 1973. She also later launched her own food and cookery brand with her daughter Annabel in 1994. In 2010, Berry focused her efforts on television once again, this time co-hosting "The Great British Bake Off" (BBC, 2010-), which would quickly become one of the most popular shows in England. She would stay with the series until its switch from BBC to Channel 4 in 2016.