Anna Murdoch Mann, Journalist and Former News Corp Director, Dies at 81

Anna Murdoch Mann, a British and Australian journalist, novelist, and former director at News Corporation, died on February 17, 2026, at her home in Palm Beach, Florida. She was 81 years old. Her death was announced by Rupert Murdoch’s news outlets BBC News.

Early Life and Career

Born Anna Maria Torv on June 30, 1944, in Glasgow, Scotland, she was the daughter of Jakob Tõrv, an Estonian merchant seaman, and Sylvia Iris Bodfish, a Scottish drycleaner’s shop assistant Wikipedia. Her family emigrated to Australia when she was nine years old. She began her journalistic career at the age of 18, working at Sydney’s Daily Mirror and later the Sydney Daily Telegraph Wikipedia.

Marriage to Rupert Murdoch and Role at News Corp

Anna Torv married Rupert Murdoch in 1967. During their 31-year marriage, she became a significant influence within News Corporation, serving on the board of directors. According to The Australian, Murdoch “never made a major business decision without her input” BBC News. She is the mother of Rupert Murdoch’s children Elisabeth, Lachlan (who is now chairman of Fox and News Corp), and James BBC News. She was also stepmother to Prudence Murdoch.

Writing Career

Under the name Anna Murdoch, she authored the novel In Her Own Image in 1985, a story about two sisters who fall in love with the same man on a sheep station near the Murrumbidgee River Wikipedia. She also penned Family Business in 1988, a novel reportedly about a multi-generational media dynasty BBC News.

Later Life and Personal Challenges

The couple divorced in 1999 in a highly publicized and expensive settlement, reportedly receiving $1.7 billion BBC News. Murdoch remarried just 17 days later. Anna Murdoch Mann later married William Mann in 1999, but he died in 2017. She then married Ashton dePeyster in 2019 Wikipedia.

An incident occurred in 1969 where a woman, Muriel McKay, was abducted and held for ransom, mistakenly believed to be Anna Murdoch-Mann. McKay was tragically killed by her kidnappers, and efforts to locate her remains have continued in recent years BBC News.