Deborah Bull (1963–). British ballerina, director and Life Peer

Deborah Bull studied at The Royal Ballet School and won the Prix de Lausanne competition in 1980. She joined The Royal Ballet the following year, becoming a principal dancer in 1992. Her repertoire ranged from principal roles in Swan Lake, La Bayadère, The Prince of the Pagodas and The Sleeping Beauty to The Chosen One in The Rite of Spring and works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, David Bintley, Michael Corder, Millicent Hodson, Wayne McGregor, Ashley Page, Glen Tetley and Twyla Tharp. Bull was nominated for an Olivier Award in the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Dance’ Category in 1996 for her performance in William Forsythe’s Steptext. She broadcast regularly, lectured and published articles and books.

Bull founded the Artists’ Development Initiative at the Royal Opera House (ROH) in 1999, and later took up the role of creative director of ROH2. She was made creative director of the Royal Opera House in 2008, a post she held until 2012. After leaving the ROH, Bull joined King’s College London as director of Cultural Partnerships in 2012, working in the education sector until 2022. A member of Arts Council England, and a governor of the BBC, Bull was nominated for a life peerage by the House of Lords Appointments Commission in 2018, becoming Baroness Bull, of Aldwych in the City of Westminster.