24 Facts About Camila Batmanghelidjh

Camila Batmanghelidjh CBE was an Iranian-Belgian author, psychotherapist, and charity executive based in the United Kingdom.

Camila Batmanghelidjh was the founder of the charity Kids Company and Place2Be, charities that worked with marginalised children and young people at risk, in inner London, Bristol and Liverpool.

Between 1996 and 2015, Batmanghelidjh became a high-profile personality, feted by celebrities and politicians for her work with Kids Company.

In 2015, amid allegations of mismanagement and the squandering of funds, Camila Batmanghelidjh stepped down as the charity's chief executive, and Kids Company was closed.

Camila Batmanghelidjh's parents met and married in London, where her father was studying at St Mary's Hospital, before returning to Tehran.

Camila Batmanghelidjh was born two-and-a-half months premature and was not expected to survive.

Camila Batmanghelidjh's birth was not registered and the date was not noted.

Camila Batmanghelidjh said that the preterm birth resulted in her developing learning difficulties, and a self-proclaimed endocrine disorder affecting her weight.

Camila Batmanghelidjh attended Sherborne School for Girls, a private school in Dorset, and the University of Warwick, where she received a first-class degree in Theatre and the Dramatic Arts.

Camila Batmanghelidjh trained as a psychotherapist at the London campus of Antioch University and the Tavistock Clinic.

Camila Batmanghelidjh assisted NSPCC child protection and family service teams.

In 1991, Camila Batmanghelidjh was involved in the formation of The Place to Be, a Family Service Unit project working with troubled children in primary schools.

Camila Batmanghelidjh worked at the unit for three years followed by two years when it had been established as Place2Be.

Camila Batmanghelidjh resigned from the project in 1996 to set up a new venture called Kids Company.

In 1996, after leaving The Place To Be, Camila Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company, a charity that provided care to children whose lives had been disrupted by poverty, abuse, trauma and gang violence.

Camila Batmanghelidjh curated exhibitions exploring child trauma at Tate Modern, the Saatchi Gallery and The Royal Academy.

Later, it emerged that Camila Batmanghelidjh had asked the Cabinet Office to bring in KPMG accountants to identify the number of abused, neglected and mentally ill children the State had legal responsibility for, which was not being met, so that instead they were self-referring to the charity.

In 2014, Camila Batmanghelidjh invited the Centre for Social Justice to review child protection failings in Britain and the outcome was a damning report called Enough is Enough.

Camila Batmanghelidjh collaborated with several charities, including Oasis Community Learning.

In 2009, Camila Batmanghelidjh was named Businesswoman of the Year in the Dods and Scottish Widows Women in Public Life Awards.

Camila Batmanghelidjh received Ernst and Young's Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, Third Sector magazine's Most Admired Chief Executive, and the Centre for Social Justice's lifetime achievement award in 2009.

Camila Batmanghelidjh was awarded honorary degrees and doctorates by several universities including York St John University, the Open University, Brunel University, London South Bank University, University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University.

Camila Batmanghelidjh was appointed an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to children and young people.

Camila Batmanghelidjh was the subject of Ruby Wax Gets Streetwise, a documentary film about her charity work with Kids Company, presented by Ruby Wax.