Dragons’ Den guest star Emma Grede makes quite the impression on the long-running BBC One show this week, with Peter Jones loving the “fresh blood”.
For those of you who don’t know Emma, she made her enormous fortune through a close partnership with one of America’s most famous families, the Kardashians.
So how did a London College of Fashion drop-out from East London bag such a dream working arrangement? Here’s everything you need to know about Emma Grede, her exceptional business career, and her relationship with the Kardashians.
Who is Emma Grede on Dragons’ Den?
Emma is a British businesswoman, best known for her collaborations with the Kardashian family.
She is the CEO and co-founder of the denim company Good American, alongside Khloé Kardashian. She is also co-founder of shapewear brand Skims [with Kim K], and cleaning product brand Safely.
Emma Grede appears on Dragons’ Den as a guest Dragon tonight (Thursday, February 08, 2024).
How old is Dragons’ Den star Emma Grede?
Emma Findlay Grede was born in Plaistow, London, on September 23, 1982.
At the time of writing, she is 41 years old. Yes, reader, she DOES look absolutely amazing. She could pass for 20!
Where is she from?
Emma was born in Plaistow, London, and has previously said she was raised by a single mother in the “rougher ends” of the area.
She is the daughter of British Jenny-Lee Findlay, who worked for Morgan Stanley, and a Black Jamaican and Trinidadian father. She has three younger sisters, Charlotte, Rachelle, and Katie-Beth.
Emma enrolled in the London College of Fashion and interned at Gucci, before deciding schooling wasn’t for her. She dropped out of college before graduating.
Is Emma Glede dyslexic?
After dropping out from school, Emma later learnt she was severely dyslexic.
She told Fast Company: “I found out in my early twenties that I’m severely dyslexic. Maybe my path in education would’ve been different had I been diagnosed.”
Dyslexia doesn’t seem to have hampered her success, though. She admits during the filming of Dragons’ Den that she struggles with numbers, and has to write things down so she can work things out in her mind.
How did Dragons’ Den star Emma Grede get rich? How did she get involved with the Kardashians?
After dropping out of fashion school, Emma went straight into work. She started at concierge company Quintessentially before producing fashion events with Inca Productions.
In 2008, aged 24, Emma founded Independent Talent Brand (ITB) Worldwide. In 2009, she negotiated Dior’s acquisition of Natalie Portman as the face of the brand.
Emma’s work as CEO of ITB saw her regularly brushing shoulders with the rich and famous, including Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner, who she met at Paris Fashion Week.
Emma pitched an idea to Kris about inclusive denimwear, suggesting her daughter Khloé Kardashian as the perfect partner for the project. Khloé got involved, and by 2016 Emma was the CEO of Good American – a women’s denimwear company boasting clothing for US sizes 00 to 24 (roughly UK sizes 2 to 26). With the help of the staggering Kardashian publicity train, Good American made $1 mllion (about £800k) worth of sales on its first day.
In 2018, Emma sold ITB Worldwide for an undisclosed sum and stepped down from her role there to focus on Good American.
Having proven her worth as a business partner with Khloé, Emma partnered with other Kardashians. In 2019, she co-founded shapewear brand Skims with Kim Kardashian. And in 2021 she co-founded Safely, a plant-powered cleaning brand, alongside Kris Jenner.
Who is the husband of Emma Grede?
Emma is married to Swedish businessman Jens Grede. The pair met at ITB Worldwide. Jens is the co-founder of digital marketing service Wednesday Agency. In August 2023, The Guardian reported the couple had been together for 16 years.
Emma told Bustle that the pair had a business relationship before they started dating. She said: “It’s funny, because we had a business relationship before we had a personal relationship, and we’re actually not that good at collaborating.
“He does what he does, and I do what I do, and we’re very respectful of one another’s respective areas of expertise, but we don’t cross over that much.”
Alongside his wife and her colleague Kim Kardashian, Jens is also involved with shapewear brand Skims. He currently serves as CEO of the company.
Does she have children?
Emma and Jens Grede have four children – Grey, Lola, and twins Lake and Rafferty.
Emma has spoken about her struggles becoming pregnant a third time, revealing she had multiple miscarriages as well as three failed rounds of IVF treatment. She said the process was “heartbreaking and emotionally draining”.
Emma eventually turned to surrogacy to have her twins. She explained: “I appreciate surrogacy is expensive and not the right choice for everyone but I’m keen to talk about my journey in the hope it will empower people to talk about fertility struggles without judgment.”
Where does she live now?
Nowadays, Emma is worlds away from Plaistow. Along with Jens and the kids, she relocated from London to Los Angeles in 2017. Emma and her family split their time between two homes: a mansion in Bel Air, bought in 2020 for £19 million, and another on Malibu, bought in 2022 for £39 million.
Fellow fashion mogul Max Azria, founder of BCBG, previously owned her Bel Air mansion. Meanwhile, previous owners of her Malibu pad include Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres (although not at the same time!).
What is Emma Grede’s net worth?
Emma’s collaborations with one of America’s most famous families have paid dividends. She is reportedly worth an astonishing £282 million.
That means when Emma Grede sits on the Dragons’ Den panel, she’ll be the second richest investor there. While Peter Jones‘ £1.157 billion fortune dwarfs Emma’s, she has a higher net worth than fellow Dragons Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman.
What is Emma Grede’s height?
It’s hard to miss that Emma is quite a bit shorter than her collaborator Khloé Kardashian. And it’s not for lack of heels.
That’s because Emma is in fact 5 foot 2 inches (160cm) tall. Khloé is famously 5 foot 10 inches tall.
Read more: Dragons’ Den: The Dragons’ net worths and how much they’re paid for the BBC series
Catch Emma Grede on Dragons’ Den on Thursday, February 08, 2024 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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