Famous British Women Artists & Painters

Jemima Kirke is an English-American artist, actress, and director best known for her role as Jessa Johansson in the HBO series Girls. She is the daughter of Simon Kirke and was introduced to show business at a young age. After acting for a few years, she made her directorial debut in 2019. She is a reproductive rights activist as well.   

Jewelry and home designer Jade Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, has also been a model. She launched the fashion brand Jade Inc. and a lifestyle concept called Jezebel. She has also worked for Garrard and designed luxury apartments in New York and Mumbai.

Artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl is the mother of British prime minister Boris Johnson and British journalist Rachel Johnson. She is known for her portraits and her signature style that mirrors the Vorticist style. Her creations have been featured at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

Artist Tracey Emin is known for incorporating subjective elements in her artwork. She experiments with media such as drawing, sculpture, and installations. She made headlines with her controversial works such as Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 and My Bed. She has also taught at the Royal Academy.

One of the two women founder members of London’s Royal Academy, Angelica Kauffman was born to a painter father in Switzerland and was quite a prodigy, who mastered several languages and the arts of music and painting quite quickly. The history painter is best remembered for her landscapes and portraits.

Born to a French father and a British mother, Sophie Gengembre Anderson was a self-taught artist. The family fled to the U.S. to escape the French Revolution. A master portraitist and a major Pre-Raphaelite figure, Sophie specialized in painting women and children, with cats and natural elements thrown in.