David Hesmondhalgh

David Hesmondhalgh was born and raised in Accrington, England. He studied at the University of Oxford, Northwestern University, and Goldsmiths, University of London, where he gained his PhD in 1996. He was appointed Professor of Media, Music and Culture at the University of Leeds in 2007.

He lives in Ilkley in West Yorkshire, where he was elected as a Town Councillor representing the Green Party in 2023. He is married to Helen Steward, a philosopher, and they have two children, Rosa Hesmondhalgh (an actor and writer) and Joe Hesmondhalgh (a farmer and ecological and social justice activist). His sister is the actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.