 She gained a degree in physiology at Thames Polytechnic in London, intending to become a forensic scientist, before undertaking postgraduate research in a teaching hospital.She then changed career to work in the media, and worked on licensing and marketing campaigns for characters such as "Rugrats" and "Garfield", and for Nintendo, feature film and cartoon characters.While working as a temporary secretary, she met and, in 1996, married the head of a licensing rights company, John Sinfield.