Maria Coole
Maria Coole is a contributing editor on Marie Claire.
Hello Marie Claire readers – you have reached your daily destination. I really hope you’re enjoying our reads and I'm very interested to know what you shared, liked and didn’t like (gah, it happens) by emailing me at: maria.coole@freelance.ti-media.com
But if you fancy finding out who you’re venting to then let me tell you I’m the one on the team that remembers the Spice Girls the first time round. I confidently predicted they’d be a one-hit wonder in the pages of Bliss magazine where I was deputy editor through the second half of the 90s. Having soundly killed any career ambitions in music journalism I’ve managed to keep myself in glow-boosting moisturisers and theatre tickets with a centuries-spanning career in journalism.
Yes, predating t’internet, when 'I’ll fax you' was grunted down a phone with a cord attached to it; when Glastonbury was still accessible by casually going under or over a flimsy fence; when gatecrashing a Foo Fighters aftershow party was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy and tapping Dave Grohl on the shoulder was... oh sorry I like to ramble.
Originally born and bred in that there Welsh seaside town kindly given a new lease of life by Gavin & Stacey, I started out as a junior writer for the Girl Guides and eventually earned enough Brownie points to move on and have a blast as deputy editor of Bliss, New Woman and editor of People newspaper magazine. I was on the launch team of Look in 2007 - where I stuck around as deputy editor and acting editor for almost ten years - shaping a magazine and website at the forefront of body positivity, mental wellbeing and empowering features. More recently, I’ve been Closer executive editor, assistant editor at the Financial Times’s How To Spend It (yes thanks, no probs with that life skill) and now I’m making my inner fangirl’s dream come true by working on this agenda-setting brand, the one that inspired me to become a journalist when Marie Claire launched back in 1988.
I’m a theatre addict, lover of Marvel franchises, most hard cheeses, all types of trees, half-price Itsu, cats, Dr Who, cherry tomatoes, Curly-Wurly, cats, blueberries, cats, boiled eggs, cats, maxi dresses, cats, Adidas shelltops, cats and their kittens. I’ve never knowingly operated any household white goods and once served Ripples as a main course. And finally, always remember what the late great Nora Ephron said, ‘Everything is copy.’
Latest articles by Maria Coole
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Re-entry anxiety is a thing: how to cope in the changing working world
Boris has unveiled a roadmap to some sort of normality but let's face it, many ways of working will never return to the 'before times' - aka Feb 2020. Mental health advocate, Elaine Carnegie, explains how to survive and thrive in our new working lives
By Maria Coole
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Life after lockdown: how to get your head around the New Normal
Life is suddenly looking brighter with a phased lifting of lockdown restrictions now in place, so why are we still feeling anxious? Therapist Anjali Singh-Mitter reveals how to be more resilient about life after (how many?) lockdowns
By Maria Coole
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'As I ended my marriage, lockdown trapped me, the kids and a heartbroken husband together'
After a tumultuous year and weeks of rumours, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are officially filing for divorce. But what's it like splitting from your partner and still having to share a house. Natalie Simpson cries alone in the shower every day while her estranged husband and two small kids happily ignore the elephant in the room...
By Maria Coole
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Mind the orgasm gap - how to get the sex you deserve
Kate Davies quit hetero sex in pursuit of better orgasms and a more fulfilling love life. Now she's revealing what sleeping with women taught her about the orgasm gap
By Maria Coole
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Catcalling is not a compliment - it’s time to make it a crime
Not even a pandemic has stopped Evie Hairsine from being publicly harassed. The student campaigner and founder of Our Bodies Our Streets, tells her shocking story and why street harassment should be illegal
By Maria Coole
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The STEM Power Pair: "Our app is supporting people in need"
It's Women in Tech week at Marie Claire, and we're sitting down with the female trailblazers making waves in STEM. Next up is Dr Rayna Patel and data scientist Georgina Kirby – the brilliant brains behind AI cancer care app, Vinehealth
By Maria Coole
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The Campaigning Health Innovator: 'Contraceptive methods are not good enough'
As Marie Claire launches Women in Tech week, we meet Alice Pelton: the reproductive health innovator who created the world's first contraception review platform
By Maria Coole
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Valentine's Day trees are totally a thing and taking over Instagram
Because why not dress up your old Christmas tree in love hearts and ribbons...
By Maria Coole
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The Trialblazing Tech CEO: 'The biggest challenge to young women is ourselves'
By Maria Coole
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The Pandemic-Fighting Inventors: 'We created a fast and unique Covid test'
By Maria Coole
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The World-Beating Scientist: 'My DIY kit will transform women's reproductive health'
By Maria Coole
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Sex in lockdown: the women hooking up with their lovers (and the partners who have no idea)
It might be illegal to have sex with someone you don't live with this Valentine's Day, but that hasn't stopped these women breaking the law with their secret lovers
By Maria Coole
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World Cancer Day: 'Black Women Rising empowers women like me navigating their cancer journey'
This World Cancer Day, we meet the remarkable Leanne Pero – a woman connecting and empowering BAME cancer patients, following a life-changing diagnosis of her own.
By Maria Coole
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How to deal with jealousy and envy at work (and, yes, it's still happening WFH)
This is an oddly taboo subject, says Cate Sevilla, who's survived plenty of toxic workplaces. Now Sevilla's sharing the expert strategies she's learnt while researching her latest book, How To Work Without Losing Your Mind
By Maria Coole
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How to get a grip during this never-ending lockdown
With almost a year of lockdowns under our belt, Kate Lucey's new book, Get A Grip, Love, is perfectly timed. Reminding us that it's fine not to feel OK, Lucey sharing her strategies on how we can manage our mental health
By Maria Coole
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Fancy working out with a royal PT (yes really, great auntie is The Queen)
Personal trainer Arthur Chatto is 26th in line to the throne and the youngest person to row round the UK. But who cares when you’re definitely King of the Biceps
By Maria Coole
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Which royal family member has binge watched Bridgerton not once but TWICE?
And no it's not the Duke of Sussex or Cambridge...
By Maria Coole
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Why so many women are struggling with 'analysis paralysis' syndrome
Like a half-eaten bag of spinach, assertiveness is something we often observe from afar and wonder what to do with, argues Abigail Mann. Seems we're looking for role models in all the wrong places
By Maria Coole
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Washington insider Kate Andersen Brower on what to expect from Kamala Harris
Journalist Kate Andersen Brower has interviewed Trump, Obama, Biden and many other presidents in her time covering the White House. In this exclusive dispatch, the leading CNN contributor and NY Times best-selling author predicts how Kamala will operate inside the White House
By Maria Coole
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Why no matter what your age, it’s never ok to break the girl code
The Crown's Gillian Anderson is said to be 'bemused' after her ex 'moves in' with her friend, Jemima Khan. Best-selling author, Daisy Buchanan, recalls why it's hard struggling with those complicated feelings...
By Maria Coole
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7 expert-approved tips on mentally preparing for Lockdown 3.0
New year, same lockdown. But don't lose hope for 2021, writes psychotherapist Sasha Bates. Here's how to reframe your mental outlook when a return to normality is still a long way off
By Maria Coole
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Marie Claire launches Save The Arts campaign with celebrated creatives
By Maria Coole