Marina Augusta Pepper (née Baker; born 8 December 1967) is an English Liberal Democrat local politician, journalist, children's book author and former model and actress. She was Playboy<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Playmate of the Month for March 1987.
Early life
Born in Windsor, Berkshire, and originally from Taplow, Buckinghamshire, she and her older brother Martin "moved around a lot" until they reached Norfolk. She had an unconventional, hippie, nomadic upbringing in the rural environs of Norfolk, as well as different parts of the Midlands and the Southeast. By her own account, her family "thought we were getting a new-built home, but it wasn't ready, and my mother, being as practical as ever, said: 'Well, we are homeless, so we are travellers until we are housed'. I remember trees, bushes and grass and a toilet in a shed. There was this enormous chrome caravan with those sort of lacy doily things in the window, and my birthday party in a tent, playing pass the parcel in the pouring rain. Rain is still my favourite weather". As a girl, her dreams were to become a dancer and prime minister, because she "liked the idea of being in charge". She trained as a dancer at Bush Davies ballet school and left with six O-levels, but later abandoned A-levels in Drama, English and History at Norwich City Tech for London.
Her initial career ambition was politics, inspired by her mother's environmental activism as well as her relationship with PR boss Matthew Freud, son of the ex-Liberal MP Clement Freud, whom she met while working as a waitress in London. She said: "I got into it when I was 18. My boyfriend’s father was Clement Freud, and I used to help out. I loved it. Nicholas Parsons would be there stuffing envelopes, and I'd be out chatting to people.... It really suited me knocking on doors going "Hello! How are you? How are things for you? Is your MP helpful? What could be better round here? Oh, I see what you mean ... Terrible state of the roads".