Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss

Early life

Shoshanna Lonstein was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. She attended Nightingale-Bamford School for girls in New York City's Upper East Side, graduating in 1993. She began college at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. but, in 1994, transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1997, she graduated from UCLA with a double bachelor's degree in history and art history. Upon graduation, Shoshanna decided to explore her interests in fashion by starting at the ground level, working at a lingerie factory.

Career

With a loan from her father, Zach Lonstein, chief executive officer of Infocrossing, she started her clothing company in 1998 with the mission to design a clothing line that appealed to different body types.

In the Spring of 2001, Shoshanna launched her swimwear collection, which was the first in the contemporary marketplace to be sold as separates with lingerie inspired sizing, and after the birth of her daughter in 2005, she introduced the Baby Girl line of children's swimwear.

After being the face of Judith Ripka's advertising campaign in 2009, Gruss paired with Judith Ripka to launch her own jewelry line through QVC in August 2010.

Gruss teamed up with longtime friend Charlotte Ronson to collaborate on a swimwear collection, "Made with Love", which was introduced in the spring of 2009.

In 2013, Elizabeth Arden, Inc. named Gruss the brand's first-ever Style Director. In this new role, Gruss serves as a spokesperson and adviser for the design label.

Gruss partnered with Save the Garment Center and Century 21 Department Stores in February 2014 to design a one-of-a-kind I Love NY T-shirt with all proceeds directly benefitting Save the Garment Center.

For summer 2014, Gruss partnered with Club Monaco to launch the retailer's first-ever designer swimwear collaboration. The Shoshanna for Club Monaco capsule collection featured an assortment of bikini, one-piece and rash guard styles.

Gruss served as a Piperlime guest contributor when the Gap Inc. brand refreshed its website in fall 2014.

Since launching her label in 1998, Gruss has participated in Super Saturday, the designer sale that benefits the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Television

Gruss has appeared in numerous television programs, webcasts, and interviews, including a 2008 episode of America's Next Top Model.

Personal life

While still a 17-year-old high school student, she came to public attention by dating the much older Jerry Seinfeld, who was still starring in his eponymous sitcom. Early in their relationship, Spy Magazine referred to her as "a legal voter". They dated for approximately four years, from 1993 to 1997, before the relationship ended. She transferred from GW to UCLA in part to be with Seinfeld and cited missing New York City and constant press coverage as reasons for the relationship ending.

On May 10, 2003, Lonstein married Joshua Carl Gruss, son of financier Martin D. Gruss and grandson of financier and philanthropist Joseph S. Gruss. Joshua Gruss is a Partner at Gruss & Co., a private investment firm based in New York City, and CEO of Round Hill Music. They have three children, a daughter, Sienna, born in 2005 who now models for her, and twins, Angelica and Joseph Colby, born in 2012. The pair divorced in 2014.

Philanthropy

Gruss is a Trustee of the Nightingale-Bamford School and also a member of their Alumnae Board Committee. Gruss is a founding chair of the Sesame Workshop family leadership committee and a founding member of The Rockefeller University’s Parents and Science Steering Committee. She is an active member of Congregation Emanu-El of New York. Gruss was Vice Chairman of the associate committee of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and its Children’s Committee from 2012-2014.