Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of News Corp's News International, was arrested on Sunday, a source familiar with the situation reported.
Here are some key facts about Brooks:
* Brooks, 43, became the focus of widespread anger over the phone-hacking scandal at News International.
* Born Rebekah Wade in May 1968, she was educated at a grammar school in the northwest England county of Cheshire. She joined the News of the World at the age of 20 as a feature writer and rose to become deputy editor.
* In 1998 she transferred to sister tabloid The Sun, a daily, spending two years as deputy editor there before returning to the News of the World as editor in 2000, where she ran a controversial campaign to name and shame child sex offenders.
-- It was under her editorship that an investigator working for the News of the World hacked into the voicemail of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, later found murdered. Brooks says she did not know about the hacking.
* She became The Sun's first female editor three years later in 2003.
-- It was during this period that Brooks separated from her first husband Ross Kemp, best known for his role as hard man Grant Mitchell in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders.
* In June 2009, Wade became CEO of News International. She also married for the second time, becoming Rebekah Brooks.
* She became a favorite of Rupert Murdoch, moving the Australian-born magnate to issue a rare statement of personal support as she came under increasing fire last week. She was also a friend and neighbor of Prime Minister David Cameron.
* News Corp had repeatedly backed Brooks to remain as chief executive of its British newspaper arm, but on July 15 she resigned after mounting pressure.
* Brooks was arrested on Sunday in connection with allegations of phone hacking and corruption.
* Brooks is due to appear before parliament's culture, media and sports committee on July 19, with Rupert and James Murdoch, to answer questions on the alleged criminality at the paper.