Susannah Constantine

Susannah Caroline Constantine (born 3 June 1962) is an English former TV fashion journalist, writer, style advisor, television presenter, author and clothes designer.

Her second book, What Not to Wear, co-written with her fashion partner Trinny Woodall, won her a British Book Award and sold 670,000 copies.

Constantine was born into a wealthy family; her father was successful in property and shipping sectors.

She was privately educated as a child and went on to date British royalty, David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, during the 1980s.

Constantine has been involved in fashion for a long period, originally working in America for Giorgio Armani and then John Galliano in London.

She met Trinny Woodall in 1994, with whom she proceeded to co-write a weekly fashion column, Ready to Wear.

In 1994, she first met Trinny Woodall at a party hosted by David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley.

The two women wrote Ready to Wear, a weekly style guide for The Daily Telegraph for seven years.

The column promoted affordable high-street fashion and they used themselves to illustrate which clothing suited which figure.

Constantine and Woodall became the co-founders of Ready2shop.com, but the business venture failed, and investors lost a reputed £10 million.

They founded Ready2shop.com, a dot-com fashion advice business, and wrote their first fashion advice book in 2000, Ready 2 Dress, both of which failed.

Constantine made her television debut when Granada Sky Broadcasting signed her and Woodall to present a daytime shopping show called Ready to Wear, and they released their first fashion advice book, Ready 2 Dress in 2000.

The book was unsuccessful and resulted in the pulping of 13,000 copies.

Soon after the start of their television career, they secured a frequent makeover slot on the show Richard & Judy.

It ensured that they had further exposure in television and gained attention from Jane Root, controller of BBC Two, who signed them up after their book venture and their internet business had failed badly.

From there they were commissioned to BBC Two to host the style series, What Not to Wear, from 2001 to 2005.

Constantine began co-hosting What Not to Wear with Trinny Woodall in 2001, in which they criticised participants' appearances and fashion style.

Constantine and Woodall hosted What Not to Wear until 2005 and became renowned for their behaviour with the participants, direct advice, and frequently referring to breasts as tits.

She made regular appearances as a style advisor on The Oprah Winfrey Show and following her success on the shows, she went on to co-host Trinny & Susannah Undress... on ITV in 2006 and Undress the Nation in 2007.

She has co-written fashion advice books with Woodall, some of which have become best-sellers in the United Kingdom and United States.

It is estimated that her various style advice books have sold 2.5 million copies in Britain and the United States.

Constantine and Woodall have designed their own clothing range for Littlewoods which made its debut in 2007, followed by the release of their latest fashion advice book, The Body Shape Bible.

Constantine was born at Hammersmith, and raised at Knipton, a small village in Leicestershire.

Her father, Joseph Constantine, was an Old Etonian who served as an officer in the Coldstream Guards.

He was of a Yorkshire landed gentry family that traces itself back to the 1100s.

Through her paternal grandmother, Marie Leonie Francoise (née van Haaren), she is descended from Dutch prince William the Silent.

Constantine was educated at boarding schools including Queen's Gate School in South Kensington, London and St Mary's School in Wantage, Oxfordshire which was run by Anglican nuns.

She was first sent to boarding school at the age of 11 years, and recalls her first night away from home: "I sobbed uncontrollably into my pillow."

In mid-2007, Constantine spoke about how she received a letter from St Mary's School, inviting her to come back to the school to talk about her career and success to current pupils.

Constantine immediately declined the offer and wrote "No fucking way" on the letter she had received.

Constantine originally did a year of Montessori training after she had left school but she then moved onto other projects such as studying sculpture in Brussels.

She later said of this time that she "lost [her] virginity, went a bit mad."

Constantine had taught children for three years, and also worked as a shop girl for Harrods.

She wrote a book about present giving, which prompted The Daily Telegraph to write an article implying she had never done a day's work in her life, something which deeply upset her.

She has stated "I've always worked."

She worked as a shop girl in America for Giorgio Armani.

She later came back to London working for designers Richard James, Patrick Cox, Alistair Blair and John Galliano which gained her an understanding of fashion.

She then started working with the British Brain and Spine Foundation and consequently met the sports editor of The Daily Telegraph.

Whilst doing a piece for GMTV, he asked Constantine to report the women's World Cup Final in cricket.

She proceeded to write about cars and then fashion.