Carol Vorderman describes herself as a TV host, bestselling author and pilot nerd – and she’s still achieving so much more besides – but what is her IQ and her age?
The TV personality found fame in the 80s and is still going strong when some people would be thinking of retiring.
Here’s everything you need to know about Carol’s career and achievements.
Read more: Carol Vorderman stuns Instagram fans with photos of daughter on birthday
How clever is Carol Vorderman?
Carol has looks and brains.
Her ability to work out very complicated sums in her head won over millions of Countdown fans.
She was clever enough to attend prestigious Cambridge University.
Carol attended Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, to study engineering in 1978.
At 17, she became one of the youngest women ever admitted at the time.
After graduating, Carol initially found employment as a junior civil engineer at Dinorwig Power Station in Llanberis, Wales.
She later gained employment as a graduate management trainee in Leeds.
Channel 4 employed 21-year-old Carol for Countdown, as a result of her intellectual ability to carry out fast and accurate arithmetic calculations in a short time frame.
What is her IQ?
Quick-thinking Carol has an IQ of 154, just six lower than recognised genius Stephen Hawking who scored 160.
Gifted individuals have an IQ of 130 and over, while the average adult’s IQ is 100.
Read more: Countdown presenters Rachel Riley and Carol Vorderman pay tribute following death of show legend
What is she famous for?
Carol Vorderman became a household name as the super-fast mathematician on Countdown between 1982 and 2008.
But she only got the job because her mum applied for her!
Edwina Rizzi saw an advert in the paper by Yorkshire Television looking for a girl who was good with maths to join the show.
Edwina wrote to the channel, forging her daughter’s signature who subsequently landed the job during the interview.
After 26 years, Carol left to pursue other ventures.
She’s a newspaper columnist and author of educational and diet books.
She’s hosted the annual Pride of Britain awards since 1999, and was an occasional Loose Women panellist until she stepped down in 2014.
Carol danced her way onto the second series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.
Viewers voted Carol and her professional dance partner Paul Killick off second.
Carol has guest presented Have I Got News for You, covered for Lorraine on ITV1 and presented the ITV food show Food Glorious Food.
In 2016, she finished in eighth place in the 16th series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
In April 2020, she appeared on The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off and won.
During lockdown, Carol Vorderman offered free maths lessons to help parents homeschool their children.
The Maths Factor, set up by Carol in 2010, was forced to upgrade its servers to cope with a surge in visitors to the site.
Is Carol a pilot?
Carol dreamt of being a pilot when she was a little girl, but pursued a degree at Cambridge instead.
The teenage Carol believed it would be more beneficial to her in the long run.
She has also admitted that she was a victim of sexism in the 70s and failed to join the air squadron at university.
However, a determined Carol obtained her pilot’s licence in 2013.
She planned to fly solo around the world in 2017, but put her plans on hold after her beloved mother died from terminal cancer.
Is she an MBE and why?
Carol was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for “services to broadcasting” in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2000.
She has also been elected as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University in North Wales.
In 2000, she received an Honorary Degree (MA) from the University of Bath.
How old is Carol Vorderman and where is she from?
Carol Jean Vorderman was born on Christmas Eve in December 1960 in Bedfordshire.
She is currently aged 60 years old.
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Is she dating or married?
Carol is believed to be currently single.
She has been married and divorced twice before.
She was first married in 1985 at age 24 to Christopher Mather, a Royal Navy officer.
The marriage lasted only 12 months.
Her second marriage was to management consultant Patrick King in 1990 at age 29.
Carol and Patrick had two children, Katie (born 1992) and Cameron (born 1997).
The couple separated in 2000.
She went on to date journalist Des Kelly, and the relationship lasted five years.
Carol lives in Bristol with her two children.
What is Carol’s net worth?
Carol is worth £7million according to celebritynetworth.com.
Her lasting success on Countdown led to her becoming one of the highest-paid women in Britain.
She is said to have earned an estimated £1 million per year on the C4 show.
Carol Vorderman guest judges on Great British Menu: The Finals on Wednesday May 19 2021 at 8pm on BBC Two.
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