1935
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, on the 26th January.
1945-51
Attends St Julian's School, Carcavelos, Portugal.
1952-1956
Attends Slade School of Fine Art, London, United Kingdom, where
she meets the English student and future artist Victor Willing,
whom she marries and by whom she has three children.
1954
Wins the Summer Composition Prize, Slade School of Fine
Art, London, United Kingdom.
1957-1963
Paula Rego and her family live in Ericeira, Portugal.
1962-1963
Receives a bursary from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon,
Portugal.
1963-1975
The artists and their family divided their time between the United
Kingdom and Portugal.
1976
The artist and her family settle permanently in London, United
Kingdom.
1983
Paula Rego is Visiting Lecturer in Painting at the Slade School of
Fine Art, London, United Kingdom.
1988
First major solo exhibition in Britain, Serpentine Gallery,
London, United Kingdom.
Victor Willing dies of multiple sclerosis, after a long
illness.
1990
Paula Rego is appointed the first National Gallery Associate
Artist, London, United Kingdom.
1992
Receives an Honorary Master of Art from Winchester School of Art,
Hampshire, United Kingdomd.
1999
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from University of St.
Andrews, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from University of East
Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.
2000
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Rhode Island School
of Design, Rhode Island, United States of America.
2002
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from The London
Institute, London, United Kingdom.
2004
Receives the Grã-Cruz da Ordem de Sant'Iago da Espada granted by
the President of the Republic, Portugal.
2005
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University,
Oxford, United Kingdom.
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Roehampton University,
London, United Kingdom.
Royal Mail issues a collection of six stamps using six lithographs
from the Jane Eyre (2001-2002) series, United
Kingdom.
2009
Opening of Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais, Portugal, a
museum devoted to her work and Victor Willing's, designed by
Eduardo Souto de Moura.
2010
Made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her
contribution to Art by the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Elected Personality of The Year by the Associação de Imprensa
Estrangeira em Portugal, Portugal.
Won the Penagos de Dibujo prize, awarded by Fundación MAPFRE,
Madrid, Spain.
2011
Receives an Honorary Doctorate, proposed by Faculdade de
Belas-Artes, from Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.
Paula Rego's Looking Back (1987) is sold for €866,175/£769,250,
setting a new record.
2013
Receives Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (Consagration Prize), Museu
Amadeo de Souza-Cardozo, Amarante, Portugal.
Elected Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge,
United Kingdom.
Paula Rego continues to live and work in London, United
Kingdom.
2015
Receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, University of
Cambridge, United Kingdom.
2016
Receives the Honors Medal of the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
2017
Receives Maria Isabel Barreno prize.
2019
Receives the Portuguese Government's Medal of Cultural Merit.
Distinguished by the magazine Harper's Bazaar with the Lifetime
Achievement