She once made headlines as a glamour model posing on Page 3, and now Lady Loretta Rothschild is turning the page in a very different way—this time as a debut author.
With her first romance thriller, Finding Grace, set to hit bookshelves next week, Loretta isn’t just writing fiction—she’s rewriting her own public narrative.
The 34-year-old has come a long way since her Essex modelling days.
But in a rare new interview, she’s not running from her past—in fact, she’s proudly embracing it.
Proud of Her Past, Not Defined by It
“I’ve been called worse things,” she said with a laugh in a chat with The Telegraph.
“But Page 3? I’m really proud of that. I want to be clear—I celebrate that time of my life.”
For Lady Rothschild, modelling wasn’t just a phase—it was the first major accomplishment in a life that’s since taken many surprising turns.
“I’ve worked really hard for everything I’ve done—whether that’s Page 3 or this book,” she explained.
“And I just want to keep on achieving.”
Elle, Loretta, and an Eye for Ambition
Back in her modelling days, she went by the name Elle Basey, known for her stunning blue eyes, chestnut hair, and a confidence that leapt off the page.
Photographer Alison Webster, who worked with her at The Sun, remembers Loretta as someone who stood out—not just for her looks but for her drive.
“She had ambition written all over her,” Alison shared.
“Even after long shoot days, we’d unwind with a glass of wine, and she’d talk about wanting more. I always believed she’d go far.”
Too short for the catwalk but perfectly suited for the camera, Loretta’s early career included glamour shoots for lads’ mags and some commercial modelling under her real name, Loretta Basey.
But it was a cheeky photoshoot with British comedian Steve Coogan that would prove to be a major turning point.
Love, Comedy, and Life Before the Rothschilds
In 2011, Coogan—playing his comic alter ego Alan Partridge—guest-edited Loaded magazine, where Loretta featured in a risqué shoot with him.
In one headline-grabbing image, he was even seen cupping her chest.
But their chemistry wasn’t limited to the page.
Soon, Loretta moved into Coogan’s home in Lewes, East Sussex, and the pair shared a relationship for nearly four years.
According to friends, she was “in love with him for a time,” but the relationship gradually marked the end of her modelling era.
“Steve wasn’t keen on her doing glamour work,” photographer Webster explained.
“He gently encouraged her to leave it behind.”
Meeting Nat and Marrying Into a Dynasty
But it wasn’t until she met Nat Rothschild, the Eton-educated heir to one of Europe’s most legendary banking dynasties, that Loretta’s life took a truly transformative turn.
The couple married in 2016, and she officially became Lady Rothschild.
Nat, who became the 5th Baron Rothschild last year after the passing of his father Jacob, holds a staggering family fortune of around £40 billion.
Despite the couple’s 19-year age gap, they’ve built a life of shared values, spanning multiple homes in London, Wiltshire, Los Angeles, and the Swiss Alps.
Life Now: Motherhood, Writing, and Living Between Worlds
These days, Loretta is more likely to be found writing fiction than posing for a camera.
As a mother and aspiring novelist, she’s navigating a life that straddles glamour, grit, and the upper echelons of European high society.
Whether cruising on their superyacht or unwinding in Klosters, she remains unapologetically proud of the journey that brought her here—from posing in print to penning her first novel.
And as Finding Grace prepares for launch, Lady Rothschild is no longer just turning heads—she’s turning pages.