Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

Co-founder of UK Black Pride and a global LGBTQ+ advocate, Lady Phyll has spent her life creating space for others to exist fully and safely.

This portrait is part of the Empowering Her Collection, featuring the women shaping Britain today.

A woman who built visibility where there was none.

Lady Phyll never waited for space to be made for her. She built it herself, founding UK Black Pride, now one of Europe's largest celebrations of Black, Asian and LGBTQ+ communities.

Her activism was built through decades of visibility work, in spaces that weren't built to include her, as a Black, queer woman navigating movements that often centred neither. It reflects a life carried by both survival and responsibility: as a leader whose work has shaped LGBTQ+ rights internationally, and as a mother building a legacy for her daughter to inherit.

Lady Phyll Head shot

During the portrait sitting, Lady Phyll spoke about legacy.

She spoke about what it means for her daughter to grow up knowing her mother's story, told in full.

Her life reflects a rare kind of leadership: one built not on institutional permission, but on the refusal to stay invisible, for herself and for everyone who came after her.

This portrait captures that legacy directly. The books she holds reference memory, truth and resistance, placing her personal history within a wider lineage of queer and Black thought.

caroline & lady phyll laughing in studio

In Conversation: behind the portrait

An edited excerpt from the conversation between Caroline de Peyrecave and -, recorded during the portrait’s unveiling at Caroline’s studio.

Nazanin: Wow, that is so beautiful. Oh my goodness! There's something special about the eyes. It’s absolutely amazing. You are incredible I think. The hands as well. I’ve got something about hands. Oh and the Origami. And the carpet. Thank you. That's really beautiful. It’s absolutely stunning.

Caroline: You're welcome. Thank you. Enjoy it and enjoy it with Richard.

Nazanin: No, it's really, really beautiful. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Caroline: So it's called Held in Plain Sight. And this [the Origami still life] is called What Cannot Be Folded.

Nazanin: Oh, nice. Yeah, that does it again. What cannot be folded. Yeah. Really beautiful. Thank you.

Caroline: You’re welcome.

Watch the full conversation with all eight sitters

Recorded at Green & Stone Gallery at the Private View of Empowering Her. This conversation features Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Emma Barnett, Sally Phillips, Lady Phyll, Daryl Fielding, Zoe Stratford and General Dame Sharon Nesmith.

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    — Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

Explore the collection

  • Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe Portrait Thumbnail

    Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

    A writer, mother and human rights advocate, Nazanin’s six years of unjust imprisonment demanded extraordinary resilience.

  • Sally Phillips

    Comedian, actor and writer, Sally Phillips has built a career by telling the truth through humour.

  • General Dame Sharon Nesmith

    The first female four-star general and the highest-ranking military officer in the British Army, General Nesmith's career has reshaped what's possible for women in the Army.

  • Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

    Co-founder of UK Black Pride and a global LGBTQ+ advocate, Lady Phyll has spent her life creating space for others to exist fully and safely.

  • Emma Barnett

    Award-winning broadcaster and journalist, Emma has built a career centred on listening deeply.

  • Zoe Stratford

    Captain of England’s Red Roses and World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year, Zoe has become one of the defining leaders in women’s rugby.

  • Daryl Fielding

    Marketing leader and creative force behind Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, Daryl Fielding helped transform how women and girls see themselves.

  • Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock

    Space scientist, educator and broadcaster, Dr Maggie has spent her career opening up science to wider audiences who’ve never seen themselves reflected in STEM.