Esther and Bella Freud
Bella and Esther Freud
Author Esther Freud, 46, lives in London with her husband, the actor David Morrissey, and their three children
“My first memory of Bella is when I was about three. She made me unwrap one of my presents before Christmas, then we wrapped it up again and she made me pretend to be surprised when I opened it. Bella was very powerful. I was overwhelmed by the strength of her character.
As children, we always felt like outsiders. We lived in Morocco for two years, where we were different to everyone else, so it was important to be united. Bella protected me, but I was also her ally.
She was always so glamorous, so I basked in the reflected glory. My first experience of independence from her was when I was 14 and she’d left school. I made some friends and remember thinking ‘they like me even though they don’t know I’m Bella’s sister’. I felt quite liberated.
In our twenties, it became more of a friendship. I was more confident and Bella listened to me. She is one of my first readers – I really value her opinion.
Bella set up a charity raising money for Palestinian refugee children and I was really inspired by her energy and dedication. I gauge myself against Bella – what she is doing, how she is running her life, what she is capable of, how she is looking. It’s incredibly useful, having a mirror like that, that you can check in to.”
The Wild and Summer At Gaglow are out in paperback on 20 April (Bloomsbury, £7.99).
Fashion designer Bella Freud, 48, lives in London with her husband, the writer James Fox, and their son
“At school I was very protective of Esther. When she was seven she was being bullied by a boy in her class and I went and threatened him.
I was very strong, but I also had lots of crises of confidence and Esther was the person I trusted. I don’t think I played the same role in Esther’s life when we were younger because I was much more selfish.
When Esther wrote Hideous Kinky I thought it was brilliant. I was really proud of her – she is totally talented.
The dynamic changed when Esther had children. I remember not being able to understand why she didn’t phone me back immediately. When I had my son, six years later, I understood.
We are unalike in many ways, but we’re cut from the same cloth, which makes us almost telepathic. We have the same values and share the same sense of humour. Into our twenties, I took Esther for granted. But now I realise what a privilege that is.”
Find out more about Bella’s charity Hoping Foundation at hopingfoundation.org
