Constance Briscoe is one of Britain's first black female judges. Her first book and memoir, Ugly (2006) spent twenty weeks on The Sunday Times hardback bestseller list and has sold nearly a million copies around the world. Her second memoir, Beyond Ugly was published in 2008. That year, her mother sued her along with publishers Hodder & Stoughton for libel. She was nominated for Woman of the Year and received the GG2 Leadership and Diversity Award for Achievement through Adversity.