Kathy Ireland

Early life

Kathy Ireland was born in Glendale, California, the daughter of John and Barbara Ireland.

Modeling

In 1979, at the age of sixteen, Kathy Ireland was scouted at her high school by Elite Model Management.

She has appeared on covers for Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Forbes, and Mademoiselle.

As a teenager, Ireland reported that a photographer once "crossed the line" with her and wanted her to pose topless. She did not feel comfortable and he did not respect her "no." He reportedly pushed her and got physical and she "decked him."

During SI Swimsuit's 50th Anniversary event, Ireland's 1989 cover was awarded "The Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Of All Time" by its publisher.

Film and television

Ireland has appeared in a number of television and movie roles. Her first movie, 1988's Alien from L.A., was later skewered during the fifth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Ireland's other appearances include Melrose Place, Boy Meets World, The Larry Sanders Show, Muppets Tonight, Side Out, Mr. Destiny, Necessary Roughness, Mom and Dad Save the World, National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (as Miss. Destiny Demeanor), Once Upon A Christmas, and its sequel Twice Upon A Christmas. She also appeared in the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars, where Ireland and her partner Tony Dovolani were the third couple eliminated in the second week of competition.

Business ventures

In 1993, Kathy Ireland's name on a line of socks sold 100 million pairs and Kmart took notice, subsequently giving Ireland her own clothing line including swimwear, active wear, accessories, sweaters and more.

She then founded kathy ireland Worldwide, initially a brand marketing firm, which she and her related trusts own in its entirety. The company concentrated on building its business in home products in 2003, after it cut its exclusive ties to Kmart.

In 2004, Ireland's annual take was thought to be around $10 million. Forbes described Ireland as a "prototype for model-turned-mogul" in a 2006 article about the trend of modelpreneurs. By 2004, kathy ireland Worldwide was marketing products from 16 manufacturers, including those of Nourison and Pacific Coast Lighting. Between 2005 and 2012, products bearing Ireland's brand generated $2 billion in annual retail sales and the company became a leader in its industry. In a May 2012 British Vogue article, Ireland was called the world's richest model. In 2015 kathy ireland Worldwide was ranked #31 on License! Global magazine's Top 150 Global Licensors.

Ireland's billionaire friend and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett advised her to enter into the home furnishings business. "Fashion and apparel is consistently changing, but in home it's more consistent," Buffett said. Buffet opens each Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting with Ireland and Bill Gates.

Ireland also designs wedding dresses and social occasion gowns. She launched her line of wedding gowns by presenting a runway fashion show at the Festival of Brides held in Disneyland Resort. Fashion is not Ireland's only venture. Sterling/Winters Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, which is the management company for multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Janet Jackson.

Ireland has branded products in many classifications including the Home, Fashion Apparel, Wedding, Fine Jewelry, Baby, Children's Toys and books, Publishing, Pet Care, Crafts and Gift markets. American Legend launched a Kathy Ireland collection consisting of 30 styles, which was featured at Macy's beginning in Fall 2011. Ireland is chief designer for Royal Footwear & Accessories (The RFA Group). She has established a relationship with manufacturer Gorham designing dinnerware, glassware and flatware.

Ireland designed a collection of jewelry inspired by Elizabeth Taylor. She welcomed Elizabeth Taylor's dogs, Gracie and Delilah, into her home, also inspirations for her collection of pet care products. Ireland launched a collection of pet products called Loved Ones, which includes furniture, bowls, collars, toys and luxury bedding. She teamed up with Worldwise Inc., a pet products company based in San Rafael, California to create the pet collection.

In 2016, in association with Paul Raps New York, Yaron Turgeman from Taly Diamonds and Roland Krainz from Krainz Creations, Kathy Ireland launched "Diamonds by Kathy Ireland", a collection of sixty-five jewelry pieces: engagement rings, wedding bands, patent-pending earrings, bracelets and pendants. The collection premiered at the 2017 Luxury and JCK shows in Las Vegas.

In August 2017, it was announced that kiWW-supported "Level Brands" – a brand marketing and licensing company responsible for brands such as "I’M1" ("Ireland Men One"), "EE1" ("Encore Endeavor One"), and "Beauty & Pin-Ups" – aims to become the first company with a nationally recognized female Chairman Emeritus (Kathy Ireland) to launch a Regulation A+ IPO with an intent to list on a national securities exchange. Ireland described the event as "a very dynamic and powerful moment at Level Brands", and Martin Sumichrast – Level Brands' CEO and President since September 2016, and member of the Board of Barings Capital Funds Trust and Barings Capital Global Short Duration High Yield, a MassMutual affiliate – added that the Regulation A+ IPO should "open up the opportunity to invest in an initial public offering[...] to a wider array of investors, at the start."

Public speaking

Ireland has delivered numerous keynote speeches at corporate events, industry conventions, expos, entrepreneurial events, social media conferences and pro-life events.

She spoke at the fourth Youth Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters on August 13, 2007, encouraging young people to engage in activities aimed at ending poverty. Ireland gave a keynote at the Googleplex, the corporate headquarters for Google on July 12, 2012. She delivered the keynote at Licensing International Expo 2012 in Las Vegas.

Along with statesmen Barack Obama and Shimon Peres, Ireland was the key speaker at the 2012 AIPAC policy conference in Washington, DC, where she expressed her support for the Israeli people and warned against the dangers posed by the lack of knowledge about the history of the land of Israel.

Writing

Ireland has written numerous books, most of them for children. Her debut effort (with Laura Morton), Powerful Inspirations: Eight Lessons that Will Change Your Life, was published in 2002. Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanity and Real Solutions: 52 God Inspired Messages from My Heart were published in 2009. Mona's Favorite Words, What Do Mommies Do? and An Angel Called Hope, her first three children's books, were released in November 2005.. Since 2013, she has published few more for Bendon: Where Are the Bears, Choo-Choo Colors, Who Wears What, P-O-T-T-Y, Gracie & Delilah: A Tale of Two Precious Pups, and the three-book collection A Big Kid Book Set, consisting of Proud to Potty, Brush Up and Tubbie Time. She has also written six more "blocky books", published by Bendon as well: Cow, Sheep, and Pig, from the "Farm Friends Blocky Books" series and Giraffe, Lion, and Zebra, from the "Safari Friends Blocky Books" series.

Fitness videos

Since 1994, Ireland has published several fitness videos that led to her design of athletic apparel and launched her brand licensing of fitness equipment. Several of these were VSDA Award-winning, including Total Fitness Workout, Core Workout, Absolutely Fit, Advanced Sports Fitness, Reach and Health and Body Specifics, which was awarded Fitness Video Of The Year.

Personal life

Ireland is a Christian. She is a pro-life advocate. She married physician Greg Olsen in 1988, and they have three children: Erik, Lily and Chloe.

Forbes named Ireland one of the 20 most successful self-made women in California, and named Ireland one of Forbes top 50 most successful women as measured by their net worth. In her Today Show interview with Matt Lauer, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model Hannah Davis stated that she strives to emulate Kathy Ireland.

In her Today Show interview, Kate Upton stated that her career was inspired by Kathy Ireland. Ireland appeared on Larry King Live in 2009 to discuss her weight gain and women's health. She had gained a pound a year for 25 years and the cumulative effect had become obvious to her in a candid photograph her son had taken.

Elizabeth Taylor and Ireland had a close friendship and attended public events together. After Ireland received outspoken criticism for her uneven performance as an on-air host of ABC's 2010 pre-Oscar special, Taylor publicly defended Ireland; "I have never seen anyone epitomize glamour and grace and professionalism like she did." Ireland publicly credits Taylor as her mentor and for part of her success in life, business, design and philanthropy. Taylor bequeathed her Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Ireland.

Philanthropy

Ireland's sister, Cynthia, has a child with Down syndrome. Ireland wrote an article about her niece and the need for an increase in research.

Ireland has lent her estates to charitable organizations such as the Marine Corps' Toys For Tots to generate funds for charity. According to Maj. Bill Grein, USMC (Ret), Ireland’s company and her book business partner Bendon Publishing International, the world’s largest publisher of children's books, donated $10 million to supplement the 2013 annual Toys For Tots gathering and distribution of Christmas gifts for millions of at-risk children and youths.

Ireland and NFL wide receiver Tim Brown are ambassadors for 9-1-1 For Kids, a non-profit organization that specializes in making educational materials to assist emergency dispatchers in teaching children the proper use of 9-1-1 and other general emergency preparedness tips. In an effort to encourage equality in women's athletics, Ireland has hosted several LPGA Golf Tournaments, including the Kathy Ireland Championship from 1999 to 2001 and the Kathy Ireland Greens.com LPGA Classic in 2000.

Ireland has been outspoken in her support for Israel. On October 15, 2009, she became an international ambassador for the Friends of Sheba Medical Center, traveling back to the country in 2010 to film a documentary entitled Holy Land Heroes highlighting its work for wounded soldiers and terror victims. She received the Messenger of Peace Award at the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Gala in 2012.

Ireland was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2012 by the California State University System, which said she "generously uses her power and influence to benefit others, supporting social causes including empowering women, supporting young girls through mentoring, and providing opportunities for girls and women at risk." On June 23, 2011, Ireland was honored by the Anti-Defamation League with the American Heritage Award, presented by the National Home Furnishings Industry. Ireland has been nominated as one of 17 finalists for the first Global Business & Interfaith Peace Award given by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (a U.S.-based nonprofit), and the United Nations Global Compact Business for Peace initiative.