I think a lot of non-Brits hear "House of Lords" and think you have to have been born in a castle with a coat of arms. Whilst that may be true in the case of the hereditary peers (which are the minority in the HoL), there are also Life Peers. Some of these are ex/failed politicians, but some are appointed on the basis of their eminence in their field [1] or public works [2]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Winston,_Baron_Winston
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doreen_Lawrence