Tamara Mellon (; born 7 July 1967) is a British fashion entrepreneur who co-founded the luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo. Subsequently, Mellon founded her namesake luxury footwear brand, Tamara Mellon, with co-founder and CEO Jill Layfield and CDO Tania Spinelli in 2016. Early life Mellon was born Tamara Yeardye in London on 7 July 1967. The eldest of three siblings, she is a daughter of Tom Yeardye, a stunt double for Rock Hudson, and Ann (Davis) Yeardye, a former Chanel model. In 1976, the family relocated to Beverly Hills, California, in a home next door to Nancy Sinatra. She alternated summers between California and the UK. She studied at two independent girls' schools in Berkshire—Marist School and Heathfield St Mary's School—before attending finishing school in Switzerland at the now-defunct Institut Alpin Videmanette. She acquired her current surname from her ex-husband, Matthew Mellon, an American businessman and member of the prominent Mellon family. Career Mellon began her career at Phyllis Walters Public Relations, Mirabella, and in 1991 was employed as an accessories editor and assistant to Sarajane Hoare at British Vogue. Mellon approached bespoke shoe-maker Mr Jimmy Choo with the idea of launching a ready-to-wear shoe firm. As co-founder of the Jimmy Choo company, Mellon secured funding from her father for the creation of her business, and she sourced factories in Italy. In addition, she set up an office in Italy to handle production, quality control and shipping. By 2001, the company had over 100 retail clients, including Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. The collections accounted for over 50% of the production of several of these factories. The first Jimmy Choo store, on Motcombe Street in London, was followed by stores in New York, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills. In April 2001, the company partnered with Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. Acquiring Mr Choo's share of the ready-to-wear business, Equinox's Chief Executive, Robert Bensoussan, became CEO of Jimmy Choo Ltd, introducing handbag and small leather goods collections. In November 2004, with the company valued at £101 million, Hicks Muse announced the majority acquisition of Jimmy Choo Ltd. Mellon made an estimated £85 million from the eventual sale of her share of the company in 2011. In 2007, Mellon appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List, where she was ranked as the 751st richest person in the UK, with an estimated wealth of £99 million. She was also ranked