Dame Jilly Cooper had a fortune befitting her legacy as one of the UK’s most celebrated authors, and she has left her family with an £8.5m fortune.
Cooper, who died aged 88 on 5 October 2025 after a fall, was the writer of risqué fiction focused on the scandalous lives of the British elite in the Eighties and Nineties.
Her “bonkbuster” book Rivals, depicting a tumultuous relationships and power struggles in the Cotswolds, has spawned a hit Disney+ TV series starring David Tennant and Danny Dyer.
Probate records show that Cooper’s estate had a gross value of £9,070,307, which left a net estate worth £8,557,118 after her liabilities were settled.
Her beneficiaries, including children Felix and Emily and her stepdaughter Laura, will all receive an equal share of the fortune. The Independent has contacted Cooper’s estate for comment.
Cooper was initially alert after her fall, with family members finding her at her Bisley home at 5pm the day before her death. She was transferred to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, but her condition deteriorated. She died in hospital, with family present.
Cooper’s funeral was attended by figures including Queen Camilla, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Joanna Lumley and Rupert Everett.
Her children, Felix and Emily, announced the news, stating: “Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.
“Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds. We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
A number of Dame Jilly’s novels have been adapted for TV, including an ITV series of The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous with Coronation Street star Stephen Billington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, and a Riders series starring Marcus Gilbert during the 1990s.
The author was made a CBE for services to literature and charity during the 2018 New Year Honours, and in 2024 was made a dame, later describing receiving the honour from the King as “orgasmic”.
Additional reporting by Agencies
