Penny Mallory
Penny Mallory is an English keynote speaker, and TedX speaker, on Mental Toughness, performance coach and a former British Rally Championship driver.
She is a Leading Authority on Mental Toughness.
She became the first woman to drive a World Rally Car -specification in the otherwise male-dominated FIA World Rally Championship.Penny has been a boxer, mountaineer, marathon runner and triathlete and is training to row the Atlantic Ocean in 2026.
She also worked as a precision stunt driver, playing both 'Nicole' and 'Papa', for two Renault Clio commercials.
Mallory is also a former television presenter; she co-hosted Channel 4's motoring programme Driven alongside Mike Brewer and Jason Plato, and Accident Black Spot. She also co-hosted with Jason Dawe on the Used Car Roadshow, which was originally broadcast on Men & Motors and later was occasionally repeated on ITV4. She presented Classic Car Club for Discovery with Edd China, Tony Mason and Alex Riley. She also previously co-presented Channel 4's programme on the World Rally Championship series, until it was taken over by ITV in 2004.
Early Life
Mallory grew up in Kent, England. In interviews, she has spoken about experiencing a difficult childhood marked by family instability and periods of social and emotional hardship. She has stated that these early experiences contributed to behavioural difficulties at school and a sense of disengagement during her early teenage years.As a teenager, Mallory left home and spent time living in hostels in London. During this period, she has described experiencing homelessness and a lack of stable support. In later reflections, Mallory has credited this time as a formative influence on her subsequent interest in resilience, motivation and human performance.
Publications
;Books- Penny Mallory, Hodder & Stoughton ltd: 365 Ways to Build Your Mental Toughness, a day-by-day guide to living a happier and more successful life. ISBN 978-1-529-39764-2