Mark Lawson was born in London in 1962.
He has freelanced for The Times, Sunday Times and Time Out before joining The Independent at its launch in 1986 as television critic.
He has also worked on The Independent on Sunday, and The Independent. Since 1995, he's been a columnist for The Guardian.
He has presented BBC2's weekly roundup of the arts since 1994, and hosts Radio 4's Front Row three times a week. He's produced documentaries and written three novels.