Divina Galica didn’t just race in one elite sport—she conquered two, transitioning from Olympic ski captain to Formula 1 driver in an era when women weren’t exactly being handed keys to the paddock.

EARLY YEARS

Born on August 13, 1944, in Bushey Heath, near Watford, Hertfordshire, Divina Mary Galica (pronounced “Galitsa”) was the third of six children born to June and Wladyslaw Galica. Her father was a Polish wartime operative who worked for a department of MI5 as something of a spy—June’s second husband after her first was killed in the war. When Divina was four, her mother booked a family trip to the Swiss ski resort of Lenk, and that holiday changed everything. By the time she was 13, June had sent her daughter to school in Switzerland, miles from Bushey Heath, so she could train seriously. The obsession had taken hold.

At 19, Galica competed in her first Winter Olympics at Innsbruck in 1964. She would go on to represent Great Britain in alpine skiing at four Winter Olympics—1964, 1968, 1972, and an astonishing comeback in 1992. She captained the British Women’s Olympic Ski Team in both 1968 and 1972, earning an MBE for her service to British sport. Her leadership and speed on the slopes made her one of England’s most respected skiers, but by the mid-1970s, she was ready for something faster.

OTHER INTERESTS

After years of shilling as a spokesperson and growing thoroughly bored with the commercial side of skiing, Galica accepted an invitation to compete in a celebrity race at Brands Hatch in 1974. She shocked everyone with her natural talent behind the wheel. Brands