OCTAVIA
LILLYWHITE
WRITER / LIFESTYLE EDITOR / JOURNALIST
ABOUT MEI’m an award-winning features journalist and lifestyle editor, covering food, interiors, travel, celebrity interviews, pets, health and beauty and wellbeing.
I started out as a baby beauty intern at M Celebs, the Sunday Mirror magazine at Mirror Group Newspapers, and stayed for over a decade until I was lifestyle editor, running the food and interiors section and contributing to all the other sections of the magazine hub. In that time I worked for Celebs on Sunday (Sunday Mirror), Notebook (Sunday Mirror), S magazine (Sunday Express), Saturday (Daily Express), Love Sunday (Sunday People) and Star (Daily Star Sunday).
I did a cross-generational agony aunt column in Stella (Sunday Telegraph), alongside my mother, Vicki Woods, Ask Vicki & Octavia. Later, I had a column in Country Living, that began as a celebration of my childhood home in rural Hampshire - and progressed into an account of my mother’s advancing dementia. I’m now a secondary carer for her.
I’m passionate about food and travel. I plan the best holidays - if you’d like any trip tips, let me know. Though this site is primarily a portfolio, I’m expanding it to cover some of my best trip-planning with hotel, restaurant and itinerary recommendations.
I’m based in Crystal Palace in South-east London, where I live with my husband - a family and divorce lawyer - and my chatty cat, Elsie.
The Style Edit visual page for Notebook magazine
“I’ve known Octavia professionally for over fifteen years now. We first met when I joined her department on the Sunday Mirror. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor when it came to navigating the demanding, fast-paced world of one of the country’s most broadly read national publications. More recently, while working as Features Editor on Country Living magazine, I was pleased to be able to commission her on a freelance basis, notably to write a much-loved monthly column. Not only is she professional, punctual and a pleasure to work with, she has the ability to write sharp, witty, well-observed copy in a way that simply can’t be taught.”
– Anna Jury, Features Editor, Country Living
“Octavia is a phenomenal journalist. Her writing is smart, sharp and instantly compelling (in fact, I invited her for a job interview within a minute of reading her introductory email) and she adapts her talents and tone to any commission, whether it’s interviewing a Kardashian in eight minutes flat, doing a deep dive into the environmental impact of the beauty industry, or giving her unique take on the latest trends.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Octavia for over a decade, at first for the Mirror’s supplement Celebs on Sunday then Notebook magazine. I was consistently impressed and inspired by her knowledge, expertise and ability. She has commissioned me on dozens of beauty editorials, has the knowledge and skills to organise photoshoots and produces great results on projects. As well as being an excellent journalist, she invests herself wholly from the concept to the logistics of a photoshoot. It’s always been a pleasure to work with her, I have seen her professionalism and expertise first hand over the years.”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
Maya Angelou