Hannah Mary Rothschild

Rothschild originated the project to light Central London’s bridges transforming the Thames at night 'from a snake of darkness into a ribbon of light.' An international jury chose American artist Leo Villareal and in July 2019 the first five of fifteen bridges were lit.

Rothschild has lectured on art and literature at the Getty Institute, Courtauld, the Royal Academy, the Hay Festival and written for many publications, including The Times, Telegraph, Vanity Fair, Vogue, The Spectator and Harpers Bazaar ‘Financial Times’, Elle, Washington Post. She is a Non-Executive Director of RIT Capital Partners and Windmill Hill Asset Management.

In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the arts and to charity.

Rothchild's first novel The Improbability of Love was published in May 2015. The story follows a female protagonist who comes across a lost Watteau and becomes embroiled in the dealings of the art world's elite. The Guardian said "her depiction of the rarefied art world is gripping". The book was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize and was joint winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. It has been translated into more than ten languages and a TV series produced by Steve Golson (Spotlight and Reverent) is in pre-production.

She became the liaison trustee for the Tate Gallery in 2013. In August 2015, she became the first woman to chair the National Gallery's board. In 2017, her term was extended by four years; however she later resigned from the position in June 2019 citing a wish to devote more time to writing and to her family’s wide-ranging activities and philanthropic concerns. She took over from her father Jacob as chair of Yad Hanadiv in July 2018.

A documentary filmmaker, Rothschild has made films including profiles of Frank Auerbach, Walter Sickert, R. B. Kitaj and the BBC series Relative Values and The Great Picture Chase. For BBC's Storyville series and HBO she produced The Jazz Baroness (2008), about her great-aunt Pannonica de Koenigswarter and Hi Society (2009). A fly-on-the-wall documentary followed. Mandelson: The Real PM? (2010) concerns the UK's former Business Secretary Peter Mandelson in the run-up to the 2010 general election.

In addition to her Storyville documentary about her great-aunt, Rothchild's biography of her, The Baroness: The Search for Nica the Rebellious Rothschild, was published by Virago in 2012. It was described as "Riveting, touching and insightful" by The Daily Telegraph. A few years earlier, a radio documentary profile of Nica, The Jazz Baroness, was broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on 12 February 2008. Her documentaries and shorts have aired on the BBC, HBO, PBS and others and been screened and won awards at Telluride, Tribecca, London, Sheffield film festivals. She has written screenplays for Working Title and Ridley Scott.

In 1994, she married American filmmaker William Lord Brookfield and had three daughters, but they have since divorced.

Hannah Mary Rothschild CBE (born 22 May 1962) is a British writer, businesswoman, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker. She also serves on the boards of various organizations. In August 2015, she became the first female to Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery in London; after eleven years as trustee and more than four as chair she stepped down to devote more time to writing. She will be succeeded by Tony, Lord Hall of Birkenhead.

Hannah Mary Rothschild was born on 22 May 1962. She is the eldest child of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, and his wife, Serena Dunn Rothschild. Through her father, she is a member of the Rothschild banking family. She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School, Marlborough College and she read Modern History at St Hilda's College, Oxford.