Trinny Woodall

Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964)^[1] is a British beauty entrepreneur, businesswoman, and the founder of cosmetics brand Trinny London.

Woodall initially rose to fame as a fashion and makeover expert, television presenter and author. With Susannah Constantine she formed half of the duo Trinny and Susannah; together they wrote a weekly fashion column for The Daily Telegraph before being commissioned by the BBC to host What Not to Wear in 2001. This was followed by several other television projects, books and clothing ranges.

Early life

Woodall is the youngest of six children, including three half-siblings from her father's first marriage. Her father was a banker, while her maternal grandfather was Sir John Duncanson, Steel Controller for the British Ministry of Supply in the last two years of the Second World War. He went on to become managing director of the British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF) in August 1945 and then managing director of Lithgows in 1949.^[2][3]

When Woodall was five years old, she was sent home from school after cutting off another pupil's plait. A family friend, Ronald Searle, who created the St Trinian cartoons that inspired the later films,^[4] likened her to a mischievous St Trinian girl, and the name Trinny stuck from then onwards. Woodall was educated at boarding schools from the age of six, which included Queen's Gate School in Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London. She also attended Baston School for Girls.^[3] She has described one of the boarding schools as "cruel" and "sadistic".^[3] She has connected a fear of being naked with the time she was made to stand totally unclothed in front of the other pupils as a punishment for having a water fight.^[4] Woodall also attended boarding schools in France and Germany between the ages of twelve and fifteen.^[2] During her school years, she felt overshadowed by her older sister who was the "star of the school", which prompted pupils to use Woodall to get to her sister.^[2]

Career

Early career

Woodall and Susannah Constantine first collaborated in 1996 on Ready to Wear, a weekly style guide for The Daily Telegraph which ran for seven years.^[5] The style guide highlighted affordable high-street fashion, with the pair using themselves to demonstrate clothing that suited different figures.^[3] Woodall assumed the role of stylist and made the duo's business decisions.^[6]

Television

Woodall and Constantine became household names as co-hosts and fashion advisors for five series of the BBC television series What Not to Wear. They combined their fashion knowledge and their infamous straight-talking advice to improve the dress sense of the candidates selected for the show.

In 2002, Woodall and Constantine won a Royal Television Society Award for their work on What Not to Wear, in the category of best factual presenter.^[7] The show itself was nominated for the Features Award at the BAFTAS in both 2002 and 2003.^[8]

With What Not to Wear proving popular on BBC America, they frequently contributed as makeover and fashion experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[9]

After What Not to Wear, Woodall and Constantine transferred from the BBC to ITV, and began their new television show, Trinny & Susannah Undress..., in 2006.

Woodall has also made regular appearances giving fashion and beauty advice on shows such as This Morning, The Today Show and The Marilyn Denis Show.

In 2017 Woodall founded direct-to-consumer cosmetics brand Trinny London.^[10]

Books

Woodall and Constantine have co-written numerous fashion advice books, which have sold over 3 million copies worldwide.^[11] Their books have been translated throughout the world^[12] and have placed them number one on both The Sunday Times best-seller list^[13] and The New York Times best-seller list.^[14]

In 2023 Woodall published the book Fearless,^[15] and an accompanying podcast of the same name.^[16]

Awards

Television credits

Personal life

Woodall married entrepreneur and former drummer Jonathan Elichaoff in 1999. They had a daughter about 2003.^[19][20] They divorced in 2009 after two years of separation. The divorce financial settlement eventually led to a complex and novel legal case in 2016. Elichaoff became bankrupt before the divorce was finalised and the trustee in bankruptcy sought to void the settlement, after Elichaoff took his own life in 2014, and make Woodall responsible for the bankruptcy debts of about £300,000. The case proceeded to hearings in the High Court, where the claim was rejected and later leave to appeal was denied, as orders over a divorce settlement can only be made during their joint lives.^[21][22]

Carol Vorderman was involved in a feud with Constantine and Woodall in 2003. Vorderman commented harshly about the double-act, referring to them as 'Tranny and the Horse', based on their appearance, after they had called her an "overdone Eighties nightmare" and named Vorderman in their list of the 20 worst-dressed celebrities.^[23]

In 2013, Woodall began a relationship with Charles Saatchi. Saatchi had recently been divorced six weeks previously by ex-wife Nigella Lawson, following a notable incident of him strangling Lawson that came to light after being photographed by a paparazzi photographer.^[24][25] Woodall claimed to not know about the incident, despite it being widely publicised at the time.^[26] In 2023, after ten years, Woodall and Saatchi broke up, with Woodall citing she "felt alone" in the relationship, and that it felt "very good" to be single again.^[27]

See also

• Trinny and Susannah

References

1. ^ Cockett, Sophie (8 February 2024). "Trinny London is having a rare sitewide sale – so we've reviewed her bestsellers". Glamour UK. Retrieved 17 January 2025. today, to celebrate Trinny Woodall's 60th birthday
2. ^ Deveney, Catherine. "Deceiving appearances". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
3. ^ Neill, Fiona (14 July 2007). "Retail therapists". The Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
4. ^ "Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine: In bed with the first ladies of fashion". The Independent. 21 January 2002. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
5. ^ Arlidge, John (22 December 2002). "Just a couple of swells". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
6. ^ Allan, Vicky (8 September 2002). "Mammary mia!". The Sunday Herald. Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 August 2007. – via HighBeam Research
7. ^ "Royal Television Society". Royal Television Society. Archived 25 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
8. ^ "British Academy Film Awards – Nominations and Winners 2000 to present". bafta.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
9. ^ "The Oprah Winfrey Show, What Not to Wear this summer". oprah.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
10. ^ "About Us". Trinny London. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
11. ^ "Trinny and Susannah Have Launched the Official TrinnyAndSusannah.com Website". Press Release. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
12. ^ "Trinny and Susannah Undress". itv.com. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
13. ^ "Search results for Trinny and Susannah bestsellers^{[dead link]}". The Times. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
14. ^ "Search results for Trinny and Susannah bestsellers". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
15. ^ Rose, Hilary (7 September 2023). "Trinny: 'Three times a year I have a shot of testosterone'". The Times. Archived 16 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
16. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (26 August 2023). "Trinny Woodall: 'I didn't stop caring when I turned 50 – I stopped worrying'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
17. ^ "2020 CEW Achiever Awards". CEW. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
18. ^ "The LDC Top 50 for 2021". LDC. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
19. ^ Ward, Victoria (10 November 2015). "Trinny Woodall's ex-husband told police officer he wanted to kill himself over 'terrible investments in oil'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
20. ^ Hampson, Laura (15 November 2022). "Trinny Woodall pays tribute to late ex-husband Johnny Elichaoff: 'Forever in our hearts'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
21. ^ Mathews, Jane (13 November 2016). "Trinny Woodall faces £300,000 divorce battle from beyond the grave". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
22. ^ Ashman, Chloe (22 December 2016). "Trustees have no greater claims than those of the bankrupt: Robert v Woodall [2016] EWHC 2987 (Ch)". Family Law. LexisNexis. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
23. ^ Editors at BBC. Carol Vorderman launches fashion attack – news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
24. ^ "Six weeks after his divorce, is Charles Saatchi dating fashionista Trinny Woodall? | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV | Express.co.uk". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
25. ^ "Charles Saatchi cautioned for Nigella Lawson assault". BBC News. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
26. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (2023-08-26). "Trinny Woodall: 'I didn't stop caring when I turned 50 – I stopped worrying'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
27. ^ McLoughlin, Lisa (2023-09-07). "Trinny Woodall: I felt 'on my own' during Charles Saatchi relationship". The Standard. Retrieved 2025-01-30.

External links

• Trinny Woodall official website
• Trinny Woodall at IMDb
• Trinny & Susannah Undress at itv.com
• Trinny and Susannah: What They Did Next