Sarah Lawson was born on the 7th of October, 1955, to Lt.-Col. Sir William Edward Harry Lawson, 5th Baron Burnham and Anne Petherick. She started out her career as a solicitor, working primarily with Macfarlanes in London. After four years of this, in 1980 she moved on to Curtis Brown, working as a writer's agent for a few years, but she eventually settled on a career as a producer in 1982, when she was appointed Vice President of Development at DL Taffner Ltd in Los Angeles. Over the next decade or so, she was also Managing Director of Anglia Television Entertainment, and then of her own company Lawson Productions, through which she created several television projects and a film: "The Dawning", with Anthony Hopkins, Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard and a then virtually unknown Hugh Grant and Rebecca Pidgeon. Having been married to Michael Grade for several years, she remarried David Maher, an Irishman, and from 1998 she took a hiatus from producing choosing to raise a family and to renovate the historic property Ardbraccan in Ireland; however, she did remain the executive producer of a BBC radio show up off the ground; in 2008 it was commissioned by RTÉ. Sadly, Sarah never got to see the project completed. Sarah died on November 8th, 2008, after many years of courageously battling cancer. She left behind her her husband and two children, and to many, the memory of an ambitious, patient, kind, generous, loving, brave and beautiful woman.
Has two sons with late husband Patrick Allen.
A great uncle was an actor.
Always wanted to be an actress and at age 16 enrolled at Webber - Douglas Drama School.
At age 22 was contracted to Rank.
Met Patrick Allen when he was in a play called The Ark and 6 months later they married.
Two sons - Stephen born 62/3 and Stuart.born 64/5.
Had a brother who was killed in a submarine in World War II.
Father was a master mariner.
Has a sister.
Stopped working on films in the early 90s to start a family with her husband, David Maher. Her first (official) project for almost a decade is the biopic of Grace OMalley, scheduled for release in 2009.
Her company (Lawson Productions) was originally The Taft Entertainment/Lawson Group. After this, it became a joint venture with Universal Studios, then became independent in 1988.
Started out as a solicitor, then a writers agent.
Governor at St. Patricks Hospital, Dublin.
Produced a pilot called "An Adult Comedy" (based on the original British TV series "Thats Life") starring Julianne Moore which never made it into a series.
Educated at Heathfield School, Ascot, Berkshire, England.
(January 2008) Still working on a script of Grace OMalley with Anne Chambers.
