Vanessa Branson

Branson opened and ran the Vanessa Devereux Gallery on Blenheim Crescent in London from 1986 until 1991.^[7] She had married Robert Devereux in 1983 and they had four children before divorcing in 1997.^[5][8]

Between 1999 and 2004, Prue O’Day and Branson curated the Wonderful Fund collection which was first shown at the Museum of Marrakech.^[9] Branson is the co-owner of a luxury boutique hotel in Marrakech, El Fenn, which she purchased in 2002 with entrepreneur Howell James.^[6][10][11] In 2005 she became the president and founder of the Arts in Marrakech Festival, now known as the Marrakech Biennale.^[11][12] In October 2014, Branson was awarded the royal distinction of Officer of the Ouissam Aalouite^[13] at the occasion of the ceremony inaugurating the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat for her contributions to Moroccan arts and culture.^[14]

Branson also owns and runs Eilean Shona, an island off the west coast of Scotland at the entrance to Loch Moidart.^[15] In collaboration with the Royal Society of Sculptors, a members-only residency has been created — a month-long opportunity for the winning member to live on the island and reflect upon and respond to the natural environment.^[6][16]

Branson's memoir, One Hundred Summers, was published in May 2020.^[4][17]

• Branson, Vanessa (19 May 2020). One Hundred Summers. Bloomsbury USA. pp. 1–368. ISBN 9781912914142.