Background
She was born in Lancashire. Betty Jackson was born in Bacup, Lancashire on 24 June 1949. Her father, Arthur, owned a shoe factory and her mother, Phyllis shopped "for the season" at Kendal Milne in Manchester.
She was born in Lancashire. Betty Jackson was born in Bacup, Lancashire on 24 June 1949. Her father, Arthur, owned a shoe factory and her mother, Phyllis shopped "for the season" at Kendal Milne in Manchester.
She was educated at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School. She studied fashion at the Birmingham College of Art under Zandra Rhodes, and started her fashion career as a fashion illustrator during her senior year (1971) at college.
She is also known for designing many of the outrageous costumes worn by Edina and Patsy on the 1990s hit television comedy Absolutely Fabulous. Her leg was amputated at the age of six as it failed to grow following a dislocation during her birth. A car accident caused further complications and she has walked with a stick ever since.
She learnt her trade in the later 1970s as a designer for the Quorum line of Ossie Clark.
In 1973, Jackson joined Wendy Dagworthy as her design assistant. She moved to further positions at Quorum, then Coopers, before setting up her own design company.
She introduced Betty Jackson for Men collection, 1986, and opened her flagship shop in the Brompton Road, London, 1991. In 2000, she launched the Autograph collection for Marks & Spencer and now works on the Betty Jackson Black label for Debenhams.
After the death in 2006 of two models suffering from eating disorders, media attention was drawn to the health and size of the girls.
Jackson agreed to join the panel. In 2008, Jackson worked as design consultant alongside a panel of judges, designing new gowns for High Court and Court of Appeal judges. She has volunteered for Dress for Success, a non-profit organisation which gives free clothes and advice about job interviews to women who are unemployed.
In August 2014, Jackson was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September"s referendum on that issue.
As a member of an advisory panel to the British Fashion Council"s Model Health Inquiry, Jackson has been involved in the "size zero" debate.
Married David Cohen in 1985.