Olivia Palermo

Early life

The daughter of real estate developer Douglas Palermo, who is of Italian descent, and interior designer Lyn Hutchings, Palermo grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. As a child, she attended Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. Palermo graduated from St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut where she was on the field hockey team. She attended the American University of Paris for a year and studied media at The New School in New York.

Career

Palermo initially denied rumors in 2008 that she would be a part of The City a spin-off of MTV's television show The Hills but later confirmed she was a cast member. She agreed to star in the series to familiarize herself with acting. The series debuted on December 29, 2008, and documents the lives of the cast members in New York City. It was reported that Palermo was paid $12,000 per episode at the time. As part of the show, Palermo worked in the PR department for Diane von Fürstenberg and later the accessories department at Elle. The second part of the first season debuted in September 2009. She was given a bigger role and more air time. The City returned for a second and final season in 2010, in which Palermo was given reporting duties for Elle.com.

Palermo was signed to Wilhelmina Models in 2009. She has appeared on the cover of magazines including Elle Mexico, Tatler, ASOS Magazine, Shop Til You Drop, and Marie Claire UK. She also modeled alongside her then boyfriend, Johannes Huebl, for autumn/winter 2010 campaigns by Mango and Hogan. She also launched a jewelry line with Roberta Freymann in 2010 and became the face of the Mediterraneo collection by Spanish jewelry firm Carrera y Carrera. In August 2011, Palermo was invited by Stuart Weitzman to design a shoe for charity. She became a guest editor for Piperlime.com in September of that year and appeared as a guest judge on Project Runway season 9. In October 2011, Palermo launched her personal website, which consists of a blog about her travels and fashion pieces she writes along with two full-time writers. She also appeared as a guest judge on Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model. Later in 2012, the New York Post revealed Palermo as the best dressed New Yorker of Page Six.

Palermo was recently named the brand ambassador of the 2013 Maasai Project for Pikolinos. Pikolinos supports the Kenyan tribe, Maasai, with a better quality of life. Furthermore, Palermo was named as Chadstone's first spring/summer 2013 "Icon of Style" and appeared at their "Icons of Style" spring/summer runway show in Melbourne on August 29, 2013.

In February 2014, Palermo, with The Fancy, started an e-commerce website.

In June 2014, Palermo partnered with Shutterfly and Shutterfly by Design. Her goal was to transform a New York townhouse into an exquisite home design experience using modern furnishings, stylish decorative accents, and Shutterfly home decor.

In late 2016, Banana Republic announced Palermo as its first women's global style ambassador.

Personal life

Palermo interned at Quest. Photographer Patrick McMullan spotted her at an auction, then took pictures of her about town. Palermo began taking part in the charity event circuit in New York, becoming a member of the Friends Committee of New Yorkers For Children and joining the committee of Operation Smile. Palermo found herself at the center of a controversy when she was reported to have sent a letter to fellow socialites pleading for acceptance. This letter was published by the social website SocialiteRank.com; Palermo immediately denied the authenticity of the letter and filed a lawsuit against the website. The website was eventually shut down and in May 2007, Palermo appeared on the cover of New York magazine in a story about the incident.

In June 2014, Palermo wed German model Johannes Huebl (born on 22 December) at a small ceremony in Bedford, New York.