Our Supporters
Gingerbread is fortunate to have ambassadors who support our work. In addition to our President, JK Rowling, these individuals help us raise the profile of Gingerbread in order to reach and support more single parent families.
Our president
JK Rowling
Gingerbread is delighted to have JK Rowling as our president. She has supported us since 2000, when she became our first ambassador.
JK Rowling has challenged assumptions about one parent families, offering millions of people new ideas about who single parents are, and how they came to be parenting alone. She has also generated a sense of pride among single parents. This has helped us bring about a real change in public attitudes.
It is gratifying to be a part of a charity which works so hard to support single parents at ground level, while giving them a voice in the national arena.
JK Rowling
Our ambassadors
John Amaechi OBE
John Amaechi is the only British-born basketball player to play in the US National Basketball Association. John was raised by his single mother and is himself a single father to two adopted sons. He began supporting Gingerbread in 2002, and became an ambassador in 2004.
Martina Cole
Martina Cole is a best-selling crime fiction author. First becoming a single parent at 18 and again in later life, she has been a Gingerbread ambassador since 2008.
Arabella Weir
Arabella Weir is an actress, comedian and writer. Arabella describes herself as coming from a divorced home, living with her mother but having regular contact with her father. She has supported Gingerbread since 2001.
Laila Rouass
Laila Rouass is a well-known TV, film and stage actress, a star of Strictly Come Dancing, and a single mother. She’s been a supporter of Gingerbread since 2010.
Neil Pearson
Neil Pearson is a highly acclaimed actor working in theatre, TV and film, and an author. Neil was raised by his single mother. He has been a supporter of Gingerbread since 2000, and an ambassador since 2004.
Kate Fawkes
Kate Fawkes was an executive producer for children’s animation - Bob the Builder is one of her many hits! She is also a writer of children's fiction and mainstream television drama. Kate’s parents divorced when she was young and she is a single parent. She joined Gingerbread as an ambassador in 2001.
Tracy Edwards MBE
Tracy Edwards was the first woman to take part in the Whitbread Round the World Race and was Sportswoman of the Year in 1990. She is now a presenter/commentator and businesswoman. Tracy is a single parent, and has been an ambassador for Gingerbread since 2006.
Lisa Aziz
Lisa Aziz is a television news journalist and has been a presenter on Sky and ITV, and joined gingerbread as an ambassador in 2002. She has also served as a trustee of Gingerbread. Lisa is a single parent.