291: Vanessa Bell's Life From High Fashion to High Country, And How Wool Healed Her

Vanessa Bell has lived many lives in one. Discovered at just 15, she was launched into high fashion — travelling the globe and shooting for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. But behind the glamour came grit. A chapter marked by domestic violence, sleeping in her car, and temporarily losing her sight from stress forced Vanessa to rebuild from the ground up. It was through knitting that she began to heal. In a full-circle moment, that same fibre now sits at the heart of her life. Today, Vanessa is a Merino wool grower in the New England high country, a stepmum to three and mum to her son Charlie. Alongside her husband Philip, she now runs vast Australian stations and has launched a luxury knitwear brand championing Australian wool and sustainability. From city lights to shearing sheds, her story is one of courage, reinvention and backing yourself. Cinta Insights, the new community connecting rural Australians, is proud to partner with Motherland’s summer podcast series. Join the Cinta Collective HERE to share your voice, earn rewards, go in the draw to win one of five $250 Prezzee cards, and trigger a $10 donation to Motherland in your name. For more than 100 years, Anglican Church Grammar School, commonly known as Churchie, has nurtured generations of boarders from rural Australia. Located on a spacious campus, just minutes from Brisbane’s CBD, Churchie offers an immersive seven-day boarding program for boys in Years 7 to 12. To learn more about a Churchie education for your son, visit churchie.com.au/boarding

You can listen to 291: Vanessa Bell's Life From High Fashion to High Country, And How Wool Healed Her online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

291: Vanessa Bell's Life From High Fashion to High Country, And How Wool Healed Her is an episode from Motherland Australia by Stephanie Trethewey.

This episode is 58:29 long.

This episode was published on Mar 8, 2026.

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