Baroness Floella Benjamin is a pioneering actor, writer and campaigner who came to England in 1960 at the age of ten as part of the Windrush children. Experiencing a massive culture shock, Floella found Britain cold and unwelcoming, even violent and bleak, she had to quickly learn at an early age to live in two cultures to survive. Unable to continue school past the age of 16 due to financial hardship, Floella entered the school of life. As a prominent advocate for diversity and inclusion with over 40 years of experience, Floella is a highly articulate speaker on representation with an abundance of fascinating personal anecdotes to share.
Whilst working at a bank, Floella attended night school for three years to obtain her A-levels, following her mother’s advice about needing an education to progress in life. Although she was exceptionally good at her job and had the potential to become a bank manager, she quickly realised during that period in Britain it was an unrealistic dream. With some trepidation, Floella decided to audition to go on a national tour of a hit musical, asking the bank to keep her job as a precaution. She never looked back, going on to appear in several stage musicals including Black Mikado and Jesus Christ Superstar whilst also seeking TV work. After repeated attempts, she finally got her big break in the drama Within These Walls with Googie Withers. This was the perfect role to kickstart her TV career, opening up the opportunity to receive continuous roles in dramas, in addition to collaborating with leading directors and producers.
During the same period, Floella appeared in Playschool and continued to present the show for 12 years. In 1977 after staring in Black Joy she was invited to the Cannes Film Festival, and in 1987 she decided to open her own television company. Immediately, she was commissioned to make Tree House by Channel 4, which featured prominent guests such as Roger McGough, Linda Bellingham, Bill Oddie and Rick Wakeman. Floella is especially proud of her book Coming to England which won a Royal Television Society Award in 2004, in the same year she also received a BAFTA. In recognition of her 40 years of charitable work she received a Damehood from Prince Charles and was elevated to Baroness in 2010. Floella has also released her biography, What Are You Doing Here?, which was awarded Best Biography, Memoir or Autobiography by a Parliamentarian in the Parliamentary Book Awards 2022.
Very passionate about inspiring children and young people, she uses programmes such as Touching Success to help young children meet role models, in addition to encouraging publishers to show more representation in children’s books. Having campaigned on behalf of children for 25 years and lobbied three prime ministers, Floella finally succeeded in getting a minister for children. A major proponent of diversity and inclusion, Floella speaks candidly about the importance of implementing diversity and inclusion in media due to the major influence it has on millions of people. A truly fascinating speaker with an incredibly positive mindset and many fascinating stories to share, book Floella Benjamin.
Social Media
Books
What Are You Doing Here?
The Arms of Britannia
Coming to England
Reviews
Baroness Floella Benjamin received a 5 star rating across 5 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Baroness Floella Benjamin, with her rich life tapestry of overcoming adversity and championing diversity, exemplifies the power of resilience and representation. As a Windrush child turned distinguished speaker, her captivating anecdotes and steadfast advocacy make her an invaluable voice for diversity and inclusion initiatives. Her firsthand experiences and achievements, including a Damehood and a Baroness title, provide a profound narrative on cultural adaptability and perseverance, ideal for inspiring change and inclusivity in any setting."
How to hire Baroness Floella Benjamin
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Baroness Floella Benjamin for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Chatting to colleagues in person, the feedback has been overwhelmingly incredibly positive; Floella’s delivery was so passionate and for some, a hard watch at times - so delivered real impact. It was quite a departure from our usual style of corporate presentation (in a good way), so it really captured people’s attention." - Infineum
"Please pass on our thanks and gratitude to Floella for giving such a moving and heartfelt talk for our BHM final event here at Credit Suisse. Her very personal accounts of events throughout her life stirred up many emotions and resonated with many people. The feedback was very positive, many attendees were fortunate enough to give their feedback directly to Baroness Benjamin as she was kind enough to spend a significant amount of time meeting with people and taking pictures – again please pass on my extra thanks to her for taking the time." - Credit Suisse
"I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to you on behalf of the entire team at She Leads for Legacy. Your contribution was deeply moving, deeply powerful and deeply inspiring. So many of our delegates spoke of how incredible it was to stand in the presence of one of the vanguards of our time. In fact, one of our speakers even went on to nominate you to represented on a UK stamp! Even a cursory glance at our social media platforms will give you an indication of just how much our community were inspired by your story and your journey. Thank you for inspiring us all to ‘Rise Up and Build’ over so many years." - Sharon, Director, She Leads the Legacy
"I wanted to take this opportunity to say a warm thank you to Baroness Benjamin for a truly thought-provoking, powerful and amazing inspirational talk at this year's Deloitte Black History Month celebration. I can honestly say everyone is still buzzing from last week. Here is just a sprinkle of some of the wonderful feedback, I have been inundated with following Floella's inspirational talk: 'It shook me to my core - the strength of Baroness Benjamin's story and experience, and the power of her inspirational message about changing the future - I laughed, cried (lots!) and came away feeling truly inspired.' 'I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the event and was certainly not expecting to be taken on such a rollercoaster of emotions. I was completely enthralled by the Baroness. Truly inspirational lady and a beautiful human being'. I would be so grateful if you could please pass on my sincere and warm thank you to Floella." - Brian, Risk Advisory IT Business Partner, Deloitte LLP
"We have done several of these with you guys now and they always go down really really well. Today I have had nonstop Teams messages, emails and people stopping me as I went to get some lunch to tell me how much they enjoyed Baroness Benjamin. She was simply amazing!" - Leena, Internal Comms Manager, CMR Surgical
"It was an incredible keynote... I thoroughly enjoyed it!"
"My absolute favourite point 'Adversity can break you - OR you can choose for it to make you stronger'."
"I felt I was on a rollercoaster of emotion as Floella shared her story. As a child of the 70s, I remember so clearly how her beautiful, vibrant, kind energy radiated. I never knew, back then, the unimaginable trauma she'd experienced from such a young age. What an honour that Floella agreed to join us for the Black History Month speaker series."
"What a phenomenal session, passionate people are addictive. I might start singing when trying to share changes at work, it might get the point across better."
- Eva, QC Application Specialist, Astra Zeneca
"Floella's talk was so engaging and her smile infectious. She has left a lasting impression on our team." -Taylor Wimpey
"Floella was just amazing… I was blown away!" - Nomura
"Our lunchtime session with Baroness Floella Benjamin last week was nothing short of amazing." - Diane, General Council & Company Secretary, Cadent Gas
Feedback from Virtual Events:
"Just to pass on our thanks for yesterday - we had over 2100 people listen to Floella and if the comments I was getting from people through it were anything to go by everybody absolutely love it - and her energy!!! My goodness can only hope I have that energy in a few years time - was also singing Smile all last night too! Once again thanks for your assistance" - Caroline, Risk Manager, EY LLP
- 2023 - Starred on the "Lord Speaker's Corner" House of Lords Podcast
- 2022 - Awarded the Best Biography, Memoir or Autobiography by a Parliamentarian in the Parliamentary Book Awards - for her biography What Are You Doing Here?
- 2020 - Received the Damehood Medal for 40 years of charitable work
- 2018 - Appointed Chair of Windrush Commemoration Committee
- 2018 - Granted Honorary Freedom of the City of London
- 2017 - Appointed President of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists
- 2013 - Appointed a Fellow of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
- 2012 - Awarded the J.M Barrie Lifetime Award
- 2010 - First Trinidadian woman to be elevated to the House of Lords
- 2006 - Appointed the Chancellor of the University of Exeter
- 2004 - Awarded the Special Lifetime Achievement from BAFTA
- 2004 - Ran with Olympic torch through Peckham
- 2001 - Appointed OBE
