New Dragons' Den star flogged fake T-shirts before Kardashians friendship

01 February 2024 , 18:39

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Emma Grede is joining BBC's Dragons' Den (Image: BBC/Getty)

Emma Grede is set to be the new dragon in the den as she joins the BBC series.

The businesswoman, 41, will join Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman for an episode of Dragons' Den on Thursday night. She will be the show's first female guest judge and has huge success in the fashion industry. Emma, who is from east London, is worth a reported £282million.

She ranks in Forbes’ list of wealthiest self-made women and counts the Kardashians as her friends and business clients. Emma started her career by working paper rounds and flogging counterfeit T-shirts at school. She then used the money to buy fashion magazines and gave her something to aspire to.

Emma met Kris Jenner at Paris Fashion Week and went into business together (WireImage)

Now, Emma is worth millions after being inspired by her mum. She raised Emma and her sisters on her own while holding down a job. After leaving school, Emma enrolled at the London College of Fashion to study business. She supported herself while studying as she had a job at Karen Millen.

Following her studies, she landed an internship at Gucci and placements at PR companies who helped arrange shows for London Fashion Week. When she was 24, Emma launched her own label - Independent Talent Brand. She spent the next decade working on the business, which brought together huge brands and celebrities.

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In 2018, Emma sold her business to marketing firm Rogers & Cowen. She then turned to working with the Kardashians after meeting Kris Jenner at Paris Fashion Week. Emma teamed up with Khloe Kardashian and together they launched jean brand Good American. In just its first day of trading, the body-positive brand took $1m worth of orders.

In 2019, Emma moved to Los Angeles with her husband, who is also an entrepreneur. The move meant she would work closer with the Kardashians. Emma was soon approached by Kim Kardashian to help launch her hugely successful business SKIMS. It is now estimated to be worth $4 billon.

Emma launched Good American with Khloe (Getty Images for Good American)

She has also worked with Kim for her brand SKIMS (Getty Images for Baby2Baby)

Emma's husband Jens is the CEO for SKIMS while Emma is a founding business partner as she works on designs, production, planning and merchandising. She has also worked with Kris Jenner on her plant-powered cleaning brand Safely and is involved in Kylie Jenner’s brand Khy.

Away from business, Emma and husband Jens have been together for 15 years and share four children - Grey, Lola, Lake and Rafferty. They are said to own Brad Pitt's former Malibu holiday home and a mansion in Bel Air. Emma has made TV appearances on Shark Tank - the US equivalent of Dragons' Den.

Speaking about her upcoming appearance on the BBC show, Emma told The Times : "It’s so funny because when you’re sitting next to Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden, it’s kind of crazy. It’s more than me turning up on TV, it’s about shining a light and being an example. For me they’re so familiar." She admitted she "loved doing something my nan could watch."

Mia O'Hare