Most successful female rower in British history. Born in Glasgow, Grainger was raised in Bearsden, educated at Mosshead Primary School and Bearsden Academy. Her parents had come from Aberdeenshire and she often spent summers with her grandparents in Aberdeen. She studied law at the University of Edinburgh, read for a Masters degree in Medical Law and Medical Ethics at the University of Glasgow (2001) and completed a doctorate at King's College London in 2013. She began rowing seriously in Edinburgh, but having at first failed to make the progress, she climbed Arthur's Seat and had an epiphany moment refocusing herself on success. She went on to win medals at four consecutive Olympic Games; a silver by narrow margin in Sydney (2000), the first medal ever for British women's rowing, further silver medals in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) and finally a gold in London 2012, an event commemorate by a gold-painted pillar box in Castlegate, Aberdeen. She also has six golds, a silver and a bronze from the World Rowing Championships.
Having received an MBE in 2006, Grainger was awarded an CBE in 2013 and created a dame in the New Year's Honours List of 2017. She holds honorary degrees from Robert Gordon University (2010), the University of Edinburgh (2011) and the University of Aberdeen (2017). She was appointed Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University in 2015, Chancellor of the University of Glasgow in 2020 and served as Chair of UK Sport from 2017-21. Grainger now lives in Maidenhead (Berkshire).
