According to recent research, Kelly Hoppen is the most-Googled designer in the UK. The results, gathered by Design Bundles, showed that Brits searched for Hoppen around 20,000 times per month - almost twice as much as the second most popular designer, Philippe Starck.
So what do we know about Kelly Hoppen, and why is she so popular? Read on for everything you need to know!
Who is Kelly Hoppen?
Although she is one of Britain's leading home-grown design talents, Kelly Hoppen was actually born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1959.
At the age of two, she relocated to the UK with her parents and older brother. The family settled in London's fashionable Chelsea district, where Hoppen's mother ran an art gallery.
Despite struggling in school due to dyslexia, Hoppen had a keen eye for style, and got her first hands-on design experience planning a family friend's kitchen at the age of 16. She quickly established her own business, capitalising on her family's artistic connections to secure celebrity clients including The Professionals star Martin Shaw.
In the decades since, she has designed homes, yachts and private jets for the rich and famous, as well as hotels and restaurants all over the world, winning multiple prestigious awards along the way. In 2009, she was made an MBE for serves to the field of interior design. In 2020, this was upgraded to a CBE in recognition of her work as an ambassador for British business.
TV viewers may also recognise her from her role as a 'dragon' on two series of Dragons' Den, and as a judge on BBC Two's The Great Interior Design Challenge.
Hoppen has been married twice. From her first marriage, to Graham Corrett, she has one daughter, clean-eating writer Natasha Corrett. She was later married to Edwin Miller, father of actress Sienna Miller and fashion designer Savannah Miller. The couple divorced in 2003.
She divides her time between her West London home and a renovated barn in the Cotswolds with her longtime partner, retired businessman John Gardiner.
How much is Kelly Hoppen worth?
According to wealth management magazine Spear's, Hoppen has an estimated personal net worth of £50 million. Not surprising, given that prices for her celebrity clients start from £300,000!
What is Kelly Hoppen's style?
Hoppen is known as the 'queen of taupe' for her mastery of neutral earth tones, but she is far from averse to colour and pattern.
'I will always do the neutrals, but it’s putting in splashes of colour and using very bold fabrics as one-off accent pieces,' she explained to City A.M. in 2017. 'I like the way a neutral room feels and then the way a colour will sharpen it.'
Her style is also well-known for its fusion of Western and Far Eastern design, a style she first developed as a teenager after stumbling across a vintage Chinese trunk in an antique shop on London's Portobello Road.
'I love the timeless marriage of the sleek and simple yet luxurious lines and shapes of the West, with the texture, depth and richness of the East to create a truly modern look,' she told the British Institute of Interior Design in 2020.
If you want to find out more about her influences and ideas, Hoppen has written several well-received books on her interior design style and how to bring it into your home.
Is there a Kelly Hoppen shop?
Over the years, Hoppen has teamed up with many luxury brands to collaborate on homeware, textile and jewellery collections in her signature style.
In 2015, Hoppen launched a partnership with television shopping channel QVC offering her designer home and kitchen accessories at high street prices. You don't need to wait in front of the TV to check it out - you can browse and shop the K by Kelly Hoppen collection on the QVC website.
Looking for the low-down on other big design names? Check out our profiles of Emma Bridgewater and Annie Sloan!
