Departures of note

Bonnie Greer was an acclaimed playwright, novelist, critic and cultural and political commentator who lived in Britain from 1986 after being born in Chicago and living in New York City. She won the Verity Bargate Award for Best Play for Munda Negra and wrote the novels Hanging by Her Teeth (1994) and Entropy (2009), as well as the memoir and music history Obama Music (2009).

She became a familiar face on British television through appearances on programmes such as Newsnight Review and Question Time, bringing a distinctive and outspoken voice to cultural and political discussion. Greer served on the boards of several leading arts organisations, including the British Museum, the Royal Opera House and the London Film School, and was a former Chancellor of Kingston University.

She was appointed OBE and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and served as Vice President of the Shaw Society. She died aged 77 in 2026 after a brief illness.