The Apprentice star Karren Brady is known for her no-nonsense attitue but she can admit to mistakes in her career – such as only taking three days maternity leave!
As Lord Sugar‘s longest-serving aide, Karren regularly assesses The Apprentice candidates. Despite now being Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge CBE, she was once an up-and-coming youngster making her own mistakes.
Here’s everything you need to know about Baroness Karren Brady, her exceptional career and the personal low that saw her take such a short amount of time off after giving birth.
Who is Karren Brady?
Karren Brady, aka Baroness Brady, is an award-winning British businesswoman and Lord Sugar’s advisor on The Apprentice.
She is the current CEO of West Ham Football Club, worth an estimated £800 million. She has also worked for Simon Cowell‘s music label Syco.
Her many plaudits include Business Woman of the Year, Ultimate Entrepreneur and being rated among the 50 most inspirational people in the world.
When and where was Karren Brady born?
Karren was born in Edmonton, London on April 4, 1969. At the time of writing, she is 54 years old.
She attended boarding schools Poles Convent and Aldenham School in Hertfordshire. After graduating sixthform, she decided to forego university and start work at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
When did Karren Brady become a baroness?
Karren was appointed to the House of Lords in 2014 by then Prime Minister David Cameron.
After receiving a CBE in December 2013, Karren took the full title of Baroness Karren Brady of Knightsbridge CBE. She sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords.
How did Karren Brady make her money? How did Karren Brady start in business?
As mentioned earlier, Karren graduated sixth form with only one thing in mind – and it wasn’t university! She took a role on a graduate scheme at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi aged 18, despite not being a graduate herself.
She moved to LBC radio after becoming frustrated with the slow pace of development. There, she had to sell advertising slots at ungodly hours in the morning.
Through her impeccable sales skills, she convinced Sport Newspapers chairman David Sullivan to buy advertising slots despite his initial refusal. She promised he could not pay if he did not see profit, which eventually had Karren managing £2 million of his advertising spend.
It was a partnership that would prove fruitful for Karren. Her next big success was Birmingham Football Club, which she convinced Sullivan to buy for £700k and have her run as Managing Director. It was a bold move – she didn’t know anything about football and she was just 23 years old at the time. Nonetheless, she succeeded. When she floated the club on the London Stock Exchange four years later, she became the youngest Managing Director of a UK plc. By the time she sold the club in 2009, she’d turned the football club’s fortunes around entirely. It sold for £82 million.
In 2010, Sullivan bought then-struggling Premier League club West Ham United. Karren joined the club’s board as Vice-President. Though the club was relegated in 2011, it gained promotion again in 2012 and has been on the up ever since. Karren negotiated the club’s successful bid for the iconic London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics. As of 2024, West Ham is one of the world’s fastest growing football brands.
When did Karren Brady join the Apprentice?
Karren joined The Apprentice as an interviewer for the first time in series 4 in 2008. She returned again in the same capacity the following year for series 5.
Having impressed in the role, Karren was upgraded to Lord Sugar’s right-hand woman for series 6 in 2010. This followed the departure of Margaret Mountford.
Prior to interviewing candidates, Karren also led the women’s team to victory in Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007. Her team included Cheryl Cole and Jo Brand.
Karren also appeared alongside Lord Sugar and Nick Hewer in three seasons of Young Apprentice from 2010-2012.
What is Karren Brady’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Karren has an estimated net worth of £31.5 million.
The same source reports her annual salary at West Ham is £1.26 million, with a bonus of roughly £787k. And that’s not even including her other ventures, including her TV work with The Apprentice!
Who is Karren Brady married to?
Karren Brady married Canadian footballer Paul Peschisolido in 2005. The pair met at Birmingham City FC, where Karren was Managing Director and Paul was a player, less than a year after she started at club.
Karren told The Guardian that Birmingham City’s chairman had asked her about the relationship shortly after it started. She replied that she wasn’t breaking any rules in her contract.
She said: “I was 24 years old. I was single. I wasn’t breaking any law. It didn’t occur to me that it would be a problem for anybody. He came round in the end. I remember thinking, ‘What strange ideas people have.'”
Due to her position at the club, Karren later sold Peschisolido in both 1994 (for a loan period) and 1996. Business didn’t hurt their relationship, however.
Following Peschisolido’s retirement from football in 2008, he now works as a coach.
Where does Karren Brady live?
Karren lives in Knightsbridge with her husband Paul.
The pair also have a house in Birmingham, where they met, and in Canada – where Paul is a native.
Does Karren Brady have children? Did she take maternity leave?
Karren Brady and Paul Peschisolido have two children: daughter Sophia and son Paolo.
Karren Brady describes her biggest mistake as only taking a three-day maternity leave after the birth of her daughter in 1996. Speaking to The Guardian, she said: “I didn’t understand that a career lasts a lifetime. I thought the work I was doing was so important that my career would suffer unless I got straight back to work. I thought people would forget me, or that I might even lose my job.”
She did things differently after her second child two years later. This time, Karren Brady took six weeks maternity leave.
She says despite her busy workload, her kids are “healthy, articulate, bright [and] happy.” That said, she doesn’t have any real advice for working mothers as “it is all about what you personally are comfortable doing”.
“Working mothers tend to have two personalities: home and work. The real trick is not to let one of those personalities drain the life out of the other.”
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What does Karren Brady’s daughter Sophia Peschisolido do?
Sophia is now 25 years old and works as a social media influencer. And – as of November 2023 – she is pregnant with her first child with fiancé Frankie Makin!
Karren, speaking on Loose Women about the impending arrival, said the new baby won’t be calling her ‘Grandma’.
She also said: “I’ll tell you what’s incredible: when your baby is having a baby. It’s just an incredible feeling. Sophia is such a kind-spirited, wonderful person. She’s going to make such a fabulous mother she’s so happy and so excited.”
Read more: Prince Harry branded ‘a laughing stock’ by The Apprentice’s Karren Brady
The Apprentice airs on Thursday, February 1 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm.
Would you take a maternity leave of 3 days like Karren Brady? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!