Lauren Booth (born Sarah Jane Booth; 22 July 1967) is an English broadcaster, journalist and activist holding a VIP Palestinian Authority passport as well as a British passport.
Lauren Booth has been motivating women to explore their authentic voice for more than 10 years.
As an internationally recognised motivational speaker, broadcaster and presenter, Lauren draws upon skills from a 20 year career on stage and TV to touch lives across the world.
From keynotes in London, Texas and Toronto to speaking tours of South Africa, Pakistan and Malaysia, her ability to deliver a straight to the heart, call to action, sets her apart as a headline speaker, event host and workshop trainer.
She has spoken at conferences alongside leading lights, including Dahlia Mogahed, Imam Zaid Shaker, Fatima Barakatullah, Zain Bikha, Haleh Banani, Mehdi Hassan, Khalid Siddiq, Shaykh Omar Sulaiman and many more.
She is the author of the groundbreaking memoir ‘Finding Peace in the Holy Land’ about accepting Islam in the modern, western context. In 2019, this was adapted into ‘Accidentally Muslim’ a one woman show she performed 30 times at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe to brilliant reviews.
Sarah Jane Booth was born and grew up in North London. Booth is a half-sister of Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the daughter of actor Tony Booth. She trained as an actress at the London Academy of Performing Arts and then spent several years touring Europe with various regional theatre companies.
Booth was not raised in any religion, yet her father Tony had been raised Catholic and was later married to actor Pat Phoenix in 1986. He was best known for his role in the 1970s British sitcom, Till Death Us Do Part. Her mother was Jewish and never married Tony. She has a sister, Emma, along with Cherie and five other half-sisters.
How Lauren Booth Became a Muslimah
In 2010, Booth converted to Islam a few years after her visit to Palestine, and became a practising Muslim. Booth appeared at the Islam Channel‘s Global Peace and Unity event on 23 October 2010, wearing a hijab, stating: “My name is Lauren Booth, and I am a Muslim.”[15] She attributed her awakening to her experiences in Palestine as a reporter.
In June 2011, Booth joined Cageprisoners as a patron. However, from 2015 Booth was no longer a patron of the organisation.
Lauren Booth, another trustee of Peacetrail and the chief executive, her husband Sohale Ahmed, were disqualified from holding any trustee positions after the Charity Commission could not account for about half Peacetrail’s income.