Olivia “Babsy” Grange serves Jamaica as the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports. She has been a St. Catherine Central parliamentary member since 1997. Born in 1946 in West Kingston, Jamaica, Grange completed her education at Grinstead High and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Canada.

Apart from her well-established political career, Grange is one of the founding members and a director of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (JACAP). She pioneered making Jamaica a brand by taking the lead in introducing policy initiatives in Jamaica to help grow the cultural industries in the country, targeting the international markets. She is also at the forefront of evolving the Jamaican Copyright Legislation.

She is a politician, community leader, and cultural activist, developing ordinary people and managing their talent. She has contributed to her community as an artist, director and event planner to uplift Jamaica’s creative and cultural initiatives. One cannot ignore the role she played in forming the Reggae and Dancehall Music Industry in Jamaica, Canada, and the US.

Her service extends to the position of executive director of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and the CEO of Specs Limited and Spec-Shang Music. She co-founded Canada’s first Black community newspaper, Contrast.

Her service was recognized in 1997 by being nominated as the Woman of the Year in Jamaica. Moreover, she was named the first Champion for Culture in the Caribbean Community. Appreciating her contribution to Jamaica’s music industry and cultural development, she was awarded the Commander in Order of Distinction in 2015. As an acknowledgement of her service in girls’ affairs, she won the DUSUSU Awards in 2019. Grange is also the first winner of girl education advocate and filmmaker Zuriel Oduwole’s recognition of a gender minister outside of Africa.