Beginning as a journalist, she wrote several popular romance novels and is most famous for penning the Rutshire Chronicles.
Her 1988 novel Rivals was even made into a period comedy-drama series for Disney+.
But when and why was she made a dame? Here is the story of her career.
Who was Dame Jilly Cooper?
Dame Jilly originally had a career as a journalist, and she wrote a column about marriage, sex and housework for The Sunday Times, which ran from 1969 to 1982.
Her first non-fiction book was published in 1969, titled How to Stay Married, and was quickly followed by a guide to working life, How to Survive from Nine to Five, in 1970.
After being encouraged to write romantic fiction, with the first novel in her romantic series, Emily, published in 1975.
This was followed by Bella (1976), Harriet (1976), Octavia (1977), Prudence (1978) and Imogen (1978).
Cooper’s best-known works are the Rutshire Chronicles series, with each book set in a glamorous and wealthy milieu, such as show jumping or classical music.
The first written was Riders in 1985, and was followed by several books, including Rivals (1988), Polo (1991) and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1993).
The books are linked by recurring characters and sometimes overlap.
Various TV adaptations of the Rutshire Chronicles have been produced for ITV and Disney+, with the 2024 series Rivals starring David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Alex Hassell.
The first series was released in October last year, and the show has been recommissioned for a second series.
📸| Aidan Turner seen filming for Rivals season 2 in Galway, Ireland a couple of days ago! 😁
cr. Delphi Resort on Facebook#RivalsS2 pic.twitter.com/uzU3bhyDiH
— Rivals Updates (@RivalsDisney) October 5, 2025
Rivals was nominated for various awards, including New Drama at the National Television Awards.
Meanwhile, Aidan Turner was nominated for Best Actor and Victoria Smurfit for Best Supporting Actress at the Irish Film and Television Awards.
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When and why did author Jilly Cooper become a dame?
Cooper was first appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Birthday Honours for services to literature.
She was also made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to literature and charity.
It was in the 2024 New Year Honours that Cooper was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), again for services to literature and charity.
