Stella MacCartney
It can't be easy growing up in the shadow of famous parents, but Stella McCartney has succeeded in her own right as an internationally acclaimed fashion designer. Her parents, Paul and Linda McCartney, were determined to raise their children in as normal a way as possible. They all attended a state school and did jobs to earn pocket money. Animal rights are an important part of Stella's life, as it was for her late mother and still is for her father. She will not use leather or fur in any of her creations and she supports the animal welfare charity, PETA.
An interest in clothes blossomed at a young age and Stella was an intern for designer Christian Lacroix, when she was just fifteen years old, working on the famous London fashion street of Saville Row. She graduated from her fashion studies at St. Martin's College of Art and Design in 1995 with a show that grabbed the headlines. The models were her friends, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Yasmin Le Bon and the collection was a hit. The big break came for Stella McCartney when she was made lead designer at the Chloe fashion house in Paris a mere two years later, replacing Karl Lagerfeld.
The time at Chloe brought praise and commercial success, silencing the critics who sniped about nepotism. It was clear to everyone in the fashion world that Stella had earned her place at the top with her original and stylistic designs. It was time to move on and she promoted her own label through a relationship with the mighty Gucci group. She then extended her range with a perfume brand. Her label has also produced sports wear for women through Adidas, which has proved very popular. In 2005, she launched an alternative and less expensive version of her line through the chain, H&M. Fans of her clothes and accessories were pleased to be able to pay High Street prices for the same designs.
Celebrities are proud to pose in designs from Stella McCartney. She designed costumes for one of Madonna's tours and her wedding dress when she married in 2000. She has also dressed Annie Lennox, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips. She has battled to be accepted and forged her own identity as a talented artist, respected for her very feminine clothes that have brought a bit of glamour back onto the catwalk. Stella McCartney has found happiness in her personal life too and is married with two children.