Kathy Ireland went from SuperModel to Multi-Million-Dollar Celebrity Brand
Discovered in 1979 while still a senior in high school, Kathy Ireland is a supermodel, actress, author and Irish-American entrepreneur success story!
Ireland made it into the pages of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues a total of 13 consecutive times, along with three trips making it to the cover. At Sports Illustrated swimsuit’s 50th Anniversary event, Ireland’s 1989 cover was awarded “The Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Of All Time” by the publisher.
Born in the serene Hollywood town of Glendale, California, to parents John and Barbara Ireland, Ms. Ireland was the middle child of three daughters. Ireland grew up in the sunny beachside California city of Santa Barbara and has never left the area where she has raised her own three kids with the help of her husband Dr. Greg Olsen. Speaking of Santa Barbara…a bit of history for those curious, it was 1602 when Sebastián Vizcáino entered Santa Barbara Channel on a Spanish voyage of exploration on December 4, providing this ocean front community it’s name because that was the Roman Catholic Feast Day of Saint Barbara.
The supermodel may have been oozing with stunning good looks and charm, but Ireland also possessed a head for business – in fact a financial make-over into one of the most affluent former models in history. Her first business lead began through a partnership with Target on a clothing line named after her which quickly became a colossal success. Proving her mettle, Warren Buffett met with and asked Ireland to add a home furnishings line to her name brand which repeated that early success but took it to all new heights. Then on February 27, 2012, she graced the cover of Forbes not as swimsuit model but as the chief executive of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, a brand empire she founded in 1993 that sells fashion and nutritional lines, along with a total of 15,000 products. And according to Forbes, today Ireland businesses have a net worth of nearly half a billion dollars.
Personal Life
From Ireland’s personal Instagram account she made a post about her family’s Irish background. “People always ask if our family is Irish. Though Dad was born in Liverpool, England, he always rememinded us, “Never forget where you came from. Your ancestors were potato pickers from Ireland!” To people everywhere, God bless you & happy #StPatrickDay!”
What’s a supermodel’s worst day ever you may ask? As Ireland recalls, in an attempt to entertain her children when they were young, Ireland stood up on top of one of her kids little red wagon, grabbed the pull handle and used it as a steering wheel as her husband pushed her along. But of course, once up to speed the wagon wheel snagged on a rock, bringing it to a complete stop while Ireland was in forward motion, she flew off, landing on her face, cracking her teeth and requiring several stitches. Luckily her husband who’s a physician was able to stitch her up and apply proper first aid for the supermodel.
At age 18 while packing her suitcase for an upcoming modeling gig in Paris it was Ireland’s mother who snuck a bible into her bag for her to read in between photo shoots. Ireland described the early modeling process took some adjustment to the long hours and actually found it to be lonely. It was there that Ireland decided to crack open the Bible and start with the Gospel of Matthew. She said it was there in that Gospel passage that Ireland returned to Christianity. To this day Ireland is a devout Christian and outspoken Pro-Life advocate.
Ireland also is involved with the prevention of bullying in our schools, lending her voice to the efforts of First Lady Melania Trump who was dealing with blows from the media about her own previous modeling career. “I don’t think there is any time that bullying is OK for anybody. There’s never a time when that’s OK.” adds Ireland in an interview taped in July 2019.
Ireland had a close friendship with legend Elizabeth Taylor in her later years. To this day, Ms. Ireland still believes Elizabeth was one of the most fascinating people she’s ever met. “We became family,” says Kathy, who met Elizabeth through a mutual friend. “She had a very curious heart and I think that kept her young. She was always growing and learning.”
Ireland joined Elizabeth Taylor for Bible studies where they exchanged ideas about life. “She told me her thoughts about being a mom,” explains Ireland. “She was very detail-focused and a lot of the lessons she gave me were about looking at things from every angle.”
Philanthropy
Ireland’s philanthropy with non-profits includes honors from, along with financial support, services, ambassadorships, or Board of Director memberships for: YWCA GLA, Dream Foundation (Founder), Providence Educational Foundation (Founder), 911 for Kids/AEFK, National PTA, March of Dimes, National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (International Youth Chair), American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, Foreseeable Future Foundation, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (Board Member), Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, WIZO, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish National Fund, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services and Los Angeles Team Mentoring. UCLA names Kathy Ireland, “one of the top ten women’s health advocates in America today.”
Today, Ireland’s three grown children Chloe, Lily and Erik are carving out their own careers and while it is indeed a high bar, we wish them all the luck and tenacity their own mother has shown.