Mary Berry (2024)

FAQs

What happened to Mary Berry's left hand? ›

Her mother died in 2011, aged 105. At the age of 13, Berry contracted polio and had to spend three months in the Claverton Down Isolation Hospital. Her illness resulted in her having a twisted spine, a weaker left hand and thinner left arm.

William Hunning, Mary's son with husband Paul, died in a car crash in 1989 at the age of 19. His sister, Annabel, was also in the accident, but survived. The Great British Bake Off judge opened up about what Easter meant to her as a child and how her family celebrates after William's death.

Mary is now a multi- millionaire with a successful empire of cookery books, television shows and sales of her cooking equipment. At the beginning of her career, Mary worked for the Royal Kitchen where she worked for three years.

Mary Berry's easy Victoria sponge cake recipe is a baking classic and a tasty tea-time treat.

Her Teen Son Died In A Car Accident

Of all the tragic things that have happened in Mary Berry's life, the one that has affected her most, is the death of her teen son, William, in January 1989. William, was home for a weekend visit from his university studies when it happened.

Mary Berry's bout with polio as a teen affected her both mentally and physically. If you've ever noticed that Mary Berry moves her left hand in an odd way that makes it look arthritic, it's the lasting result of polio. She was 13 years old in 1948 when she ended up hospitalized for three months during a polio outbreak.

Mary continues to write books alongside Lucy Young, her assistant of over thirty years. All charities she is passionate to support.

Annabel Mary March

Mary Berry / Daughter

Mary's daughter Annabel Bosher, 45, is married to Dan and they live on a farm in Oxford shire, less than an hour's drive from Mary's home, with their three children: Louis, 12, Hobie, ten, and Atalanta, six. Mary started as a judge on The Great British Bake Off in 2010 alongside the baker Paul Hollywood.

In 2019 she and her husband Paul downsized, moving to the nearby, and much coveted village of Henley-upon-Thames. But that wasn't the last she'd see of Watercroft. An involved seller, Mary regularly visited the family who bought it from her for cups of tea.

How is Mary so rich? ›

Mary's story raised eyebrows during the series premiere when she revealed that her late grandmother, Rosemary Cosby, left her a massive fortune in her will under the condition that the reality star married her ​stepgrandfather and current husband, Robert.

Mary Berry was born Mary Rosa Alleyne Berry on 24 March 1935. Although she legally took her husband's surname (Hunnings), she continues to use her maiden name for her public persona.

Queen of cakes Mary Berry insists that margarine makes for a lighter texture than butter. This is true, especially for the “all-in-one” method, where all the ingredients are beaten to a batter in a food processor.

That could explain Berry's faux-unimpressed reaction, considering her boarding school background and royal moniker, the Queen of Cakes.

Mary learned the art of baking from her mother before training at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris at the age of just 17.