A brief biography.
Kathy Ireland

Kathy Ireland began her career as a supermodel and morphed into what the       Associated Press and London Times call “a best friend to working mothers” because women all over America are embracing her designs and products. 

Kathy Ireland is a wife, mother, Sunday school teacher and Chief Designer and CEO of Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW), which mission is

                                                    “… finding solutions for families,
                                                            especially busy moms.” 

Kathy balances her responsibilities while leading the brand, which is acknowledged by Women’s Wear Daily as America’s 7th most popular in its category.

Kathy is honored by the National Association of Women Business Owners with the Businesswoman of the Year Award.  She is the only designer in history to have an LPGA-sponsored tournament named in her honor, The Kathy Ireland Championship Honoring Harvey Penick and Kathy Ireland Worldwide is the presenting sponsor of the Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions. KIWW’s relationship with the LPGA supports women’s athletics and education.

The genesis of Kathy Ireland Worldwide occurred in 1993 when founder Kathy Ireland brought her unique perspectives to American women with a collection of designer socks with Moretz Sports.   Today, Kathy in concert with her Brand Partners produce more than 15,000 collaboratively designed SKU’s in furniture, flooring, lighting and accessories, window treatments, home office and entertainment, leather and microfiber, top of bed,  blankets, bedding, candles, permanent florals, hand painted fine porcelain,  jewelry and apparel.

Kathy’s inspiration to design her products came through working with some of the world’s most famous designers. “I want to offer products and fashion to women at affordable costs with the style found on the world’s most recognized runways.”  Out of this desire, the Kathy Ireland Brand was born, exemplifying her philosophy of high quality merchandise with great style and family-friendly pricing.

“As a busy mom, finding time to shop is a challenging task,” explains Kathy, who designs her apparel collections with this in mind.  Kathy develops soft, versatile, compatible pieces that make shopping fun and easy for her customer.  “Our apparel is
designed for women who value time and are wise with their money.  We should be able to look great, feel great and invest more time and money into other priorities…such as our families,” adds Kathy 

Kathy’s completely involved from initial sketches and product approvals to the sales, communication and financing of her brand.  “I wouldn’t be comfortable lending my name as a paid celebrity endorsement.  My background in modeling alerted me to images and
prices that were unrealistic.  It’s important that everything under my brand carry my personal involvement,” shares Kathy.

KIWW is committed to customer satisfaction through constant innovation in product with an extraordinary commitment to Fashion, Quality, Value and Safety™ in every collection from apparel to home furnishings. KIWW establishes alliances with corporations who share core values.

Through dedicated media outreach to two of the Brand’s core constituents, the Hispanic and African-American communities, the Brand has dramatically increased its awareness and fostered a strong and growing relationship with America’s two largest minority groups.

A concentrated grass-roots campaign is at the core of the Brand’s marketing strategy.  Kathy regularly communicates with her consumer through various media outlets including television, print and radio.  Through her award-winning website kathyireland.com, she encourages an open dialogue with the women she serves.  This dialogue and feedback are critical factors in delivering the brand’s mission statement.  No products are sold on kathyireland.com.  It is strictly a communication channel. The website has received honors from Yahoo!, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. 

To reinforce Kathy’s credibility as a designer, besides her tribute from Women’s Wear Daily, her collections are regularly featured in the same prestigious magazines that ask her to grace their covers: Cosmopolitan, Glamour, McCalls, People, Redbook, Shape Fit Pregnancy, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vanity Fair.  Her products are regularly featured editorially beside those of Oscar de la Renta, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Liz Claiborne, Charles Jourdan, and Gucci.  She is a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Craig Kilborn, MSNBC, CNBC, The Today Show, Oprah, Larry King, Access Hollywood and Main Floor.   Specials on E!, VH1 and Entertainment Tonight provide an opportunity for Kathy to share her message to her customer.

Forbes Magazine reports that KIWW is a “design empire which grosses over one billion dollars annually in retail sales”. This year Newsweek reported, “Annual sales run to $1.4 billion.”

The Brand’s unique ability to bring attention to its partners and products through the media is a Kathy Ireland hallmark.  In addition to frequent television and radio Kathy and the Brand accomplishments are regularly profiled in publications such as Parade, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Washington Post, Forbes, and Inc Magazine.

Internationally, the Kathy Ireland Brand appears in Elle, Hola, Marie Claire, Latina, Cosmopolitan, People Espanol and Harper’s Bazaar.  It has received wonderful reviews from Good Housekeeping, Latina, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Crecer Feliz, People Espanol and Teen People en Espanol.  Kathy continues to bring fashion shows to Despierta Americaand Sabado Gigante, two of international television’s most important series.

Kathy’s Home Collection features pieces that are comfortable, casual, family-friendly and compatible with other pieces.  Her inspiration comes from her travels to countries all over the world. She is especially influenced by Great Britain.  As a child, she visited England, the birthplace of her father, and was influenced by many of the homes and properties, which reflect the richness of the country’s history, particularly Windsor Castle.  His Royal Highness The Prince Edward counseled Kathy and her team on the restoration of Windsor Castle before the collection was developed.

The Kathy Ireland Home Collection, which includes home furniture, office and entertainment, flooring, lighting, accessories, window treatments, top of bed,  bedding, mattresses, candles, apparel, blankets, leather and microfiber, hand painted porcelain, fire resistant fibers and jewelry, is named among the Best of Market during its launch in Highpoint, North Carolina. These products celebrate global influences.  Kathy encourages you to vacation everyday with her exclusive style Guides…Aloha, Americana, Architectural, La Vida Buena, European Country, In Russian Style, Far East Dreams and Ivory Coast.

Kathy’s designs in lighting, upholstery and rugs appeared on the Christopher Lowell Show. Kathy’s outdoor living expert Nicholas Walker contributed to the exterior spaces of the program as well. “Christopher is brilliant.  His program is a warm and welcoming environment for people to learn about new products, trends and information. It was a special privilege when years ago, Christopher allowed me to contribute items to the set of his program. Many designers have made similar contributions and it is an honor to be among them.  Christopher gave our Brand a tremendous opportunity and that is something I will always appreciate,” says Kathy.

Kathy Ireland Worldwide’s diverse business interests include retaining the services of Design Ambassadors and experts to facilitate the Brand mission statement.  ACafe by Kathy’s friend Chef Andre Carthen is a Kathy Ireland Brand Solution devoted to food, entertaining and culture. Jardin du Jour, cultivated by award winning landscape designer
 Nicholas Walker, is also a Kathy Ireland Brand Solution devoted to outdoor living. In 2001, Jardin du Jour was awarded the Gold Medal for design excellence at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, the Nation’s leading horticultural exhibition. The Quilts of Gee’s Bend whose original works of art from rural Alabama are the Genesis of unique designs. The original Quilts of Gee’s Bend gained international recognition through museum tours around the world.

Even with Kathy’s responsibilities caring for her family, designing, and promoting her collections, she is actively working with various non-profit organizations. She is acknowledged by UCLA as one of the top 10 women’s health advocates in America.  Kathy is the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) Ambassador for Women’s Health Issues and EIF’s Ambassador for the National Women’s Cancer Research Alliance.  She is Ambassador of Hope for the City of Hope and National Chair of Family Services and Parenting for Athletes and Entertainers for Kids. She is active in the Special Olympics, and each holiday season, Kathy partners with Feed The Children and underwrites the distribution of 170,000 pounds of food, clothing and toys to children in need across the nation. 

Kathy has pioneered the way in bringing this country its first and only national wish-granting organization for terminally ill adults, the Dream Foundation.  As Dream Ambassador, Kathy represents the Dream Foundation to corporations, helping to strengthen and build the resources necessary to make dreams come true for families.

Kathy is responsible for the endowment of the Floyd Hall Fellowship Grant Program, which is awarded annually by the American Paralysis Association to the leading scientist in the field of spinal cord regeneration.  The Fellowship grants major funding to researchers making strides in the search for a cure for paralysis.

Kathy responded to the devastation of Hurricane Mitch by contributing a donation of over one hundred thousand dollars of her sportswear collection to Honduras and Nicaragua.  Kathy’s strong commitment to human rights began with her father’s career in labor relations when she was a child.  Marching with Cesar Chavez, Kathy learned about the struggle for equality and developed a strong relationship with the Latino community.

During her maternity leave, Kathy began Spanish lessons, thus allowing her to create bilingual materials for the March of Dimes, to disseminate information on healthier babies to the Spanish speaking population.  One of Kathy’s Christmas projects is her support of the women and children at Casa Julia de Burgos in Puerto Rico, where clothing, toys and food are distributed to those in need in a holiday atmosphere.

As a health and wellness advocate, Kathy is dedicated to sharing health information to women and children worldwide.  She is a certified fitness instructor and is the producer of five internationally best-selling fitness videos.  

Growing up in Santa Barbara, California, Kathy was discovered by a scout from Elite Modeling Agency and by age 17, was traveling the world as a fashion model.  She soon reached “supermodel” fame, appearing on covers of countless magazines, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Sports Illustrated.

As an actress, Kathy appeared on Strong Medicine, Touched By An Angel and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and starred on stage in Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women.  She has signed deals with NBC and Viacom and is currently developing multiple projects for the network and studio.  In the Holiday 2000 season, Kathy co-starred with Touched By An Angel’s John Dye in the highly successful       Once Upon A Christmas, the first original MOW programming for the PAX Network, produced by His Royal Highness, The Prince Edward.  The sequel Twice Upon A Christmas aired in the 2002 holiday season, also on the PAX Network, and received a special screening at the White House given by First Lady Laura Bush.

Kathy is a sought after voice-over artist; she has created animated characters in the following shows: The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Duckman,and King of the Hill.

Kathy lives in Southern California with her husband Greg, an emergency room physician,
and their three children, Erik, Lily and Chloe.  Kathy Ireland Worldwide is represented exclusively by Sterling/Winters Company.