Cristina Odone

Cristina Patricia Odone (born 11 November 1960) is an Italian-British journalist, editor, and writer. She is the founder and chair of the Parenting Circle Charity. Odone is formerly the Editor of The Catholic Herald, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman and director of the Centre for Character and Values at the Legatum Institute. Early life Odone was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to an Italian father, Augusto Odone, and a Swedish mother. Her half-brother was Lorenzo Odone, after whom Lorenzo's oil is named. Odone's father was a World Bank official, which led to the family regularly moving. Odone went initially to Marymount School, then later to the National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C. After her parents' divorce, Odone moved to Britain to go to St Clare's, a boarding school in Oxford. Odone studied French literature and history at Worcester College, Oxford. Journalist Odone edited The Catholic Herald from 1991 to 1995. Odone later worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., as an advisor to European companies. She resigned from The Catholic Herald to be able to finish her second novel, A Perfect Wife. In 1996, Odone became the television critic for The Daily Telegraph, a position she held for two years.