Quick Facts
Biography
Anya Linden, Lady Sainsbury of Preston Candover (born 3 January 1933) is a retired English ballerina.
She was born Anya Eltenton and spent her childhood in California, where she received her early training with Koslov in Hollywood. She returned to England in 1947 and studied at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, joining the company in 1951. She was promoted to soloist 1954 and to ballerina 1958.
She married John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover in 1963 and retired from dancing in 1965. In 1987, she founded the biennial Linbury Prize for Stage Design to identify and encourage talented newcomers to the field of theatre design. Along with her husband, she founded the Linbury Trust, named from a combination of the names Linden and Sainsbury.
The retailer Sainsbury's, formerly led by her husband, developed a potato variety in 1996 that was named 'Anya' in her honour.