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.
Born into an upper class social background with connections to the British aristocracy, she was first known when she went on to date Queen Elizabeth's nephew David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, during the 1980s. She 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. 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. From there they were commissioned to BBC Two to host the style series, What Not to Wear, from 2001 to 2005. 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.Trinny and Susannah Have Launched the Official TrinnyAndSusannah.com Website – pr.com. Retrieved 11 April 2007. 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.
Early life Constantine was born at Hammersmith, and raised at Knipton, a small village in Leicestershire.BBC She was privately educated as a child and lived at The Priory—a “gentrified farmhouse”— in Lincolnshire (on the Leicestershire border) for much of her childhood, ‘spending her days exploring the nearby streams and woodlands, riding ponies, fishing and picnicking’ with her childhood friend Lady Theresa Manners, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland of nearby Belvoir Castle.
Her father, Joseph ‘Joe’ Constantine, was an Old Etonian and self-taught artist born into a Yorkshire landed gentry family that traces itself back to the 1100s (historically known as the de Costentin family, originating from the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, that established the Cosmeston fortified manor house in South Wales after joining the Anglo-Norman conquest of Glamorgan).Burke's Landed Gentry, 17th ed., 1952, ed. L. G. Pine, p. 515, 'Constantine of Tanton Grange' pedigree He served as an officer in the Coldstream Guards and was the wealthy shipping and property heir of the Constantine Group—the family shipping firm founded in 1885—of which he served as CEO. Her mother, Mary Rose Constantine (née Cotter), came from an affluent social background with family connections to British aristocracy, who was related through her own mother to the Ley baronets and De Capell Brooke baronets, and was descended from Scottish clan chiefs Ewen MacPherson of Cluny and Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat. Through her Belgian paternal grandmother, Marie Léonie Françoise Constantine (née van Haaren [not to be confused with the noble German von Haaren family or with the extinct noble Dutch van Haren family]), she is a descendant of Dutch prince William the Silent; Marie Léonie Françoise Constantine being a descendant of Countess Josina Geertruijd van Nassau-La Lecq (1743–1816) in her direct maternal line, herself a great-great-granddaughter of Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd (grandson of William the Silent) and his wife Countess Isabella of Hornes.
Constantine described her parents's lifestyle as a privileged, traditional upbringing filled with ‘hunting, shooting, and fishing’.
Education Constantine was educated at boarding schools including Queen's Gate School in South Kensington, LondonFiona Neill. – The Times. Retrieved 16 July 2007. 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."Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine: In bed with the first ladies of fashion , The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
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.Editors at Metro. "Susannah tells nuns 'No f***ing way'", www.metro.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
Early career 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."Barbara Ellen. God's gift to women – guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2007. Constantine had taught children for three years, and also worked as a shop girl for Harrods.John Arlidge Just a couple of swells – observer.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 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.Sabine Durrant 'They wanted to give us a good scrubbing' – guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021. 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.
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.Neil Tweedie. No, seriously . . . does my cheque look big in this? – Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
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.Nigel Reynolds. Fashion 'makeover queens' land £1m book deal – BroadcastNow. Retrieved 15 November 2021. 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.
Television
2001–03 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,Sarah Lyall. They Skewer Your Wardrobe In Public – nytimes.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021. and frequently referring to breasts as tits. A notorious moment arose when Constantine spontaneously pulled a female candidate's underwear down during filming as her knicker line was visible. Critics of What Not to Wear argued that the duo were too patronising to their subjects, a claim which they strongly disagree with. Constantine insists that their subjects "see we have a genuine love of women. We love women and they can see that. Women just know." She also stated "Ultimately, what we're doing is giving people confidence. We're probably the only people who have an opinion, who care how ordinary people dress. No one at Vogue magazine gives a shit. They work with the designers, it's more creative and artistic – they are creating something beautiful. But they don't care about how their readers end up looking – whereas we do!" The show made Constantine and Woodall household names and they are now known together as Trinny and Susannah. One reporter has simply referred to Constantine as "the one with 'big tits'."
Constantine has the belief that "anyone can achieve style. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from." She also says that she finds dressing other women easy, but finds it difficult when dressing herself.Catherine Deveney Deceiving appearances – scotsman.com. Retrieved 1 June 2007. Constantine and Woodall share the belief that dressing to flatter body shape is vital, stating "For us, it's all about shape, and how that is going to cure a bodily defect. We're like clothing doctors."
During her time co-hosting What Not to Wear, she and Woodall won a Royal Television Society Award in 2002 for being the best factual presenters.Royal Television Society – rts.org.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2007. In 2002, Constantine advised Jeremy Clarkson on a celebrity version of What Not to Wear.Press Release. BBC One honours the best TV moments from 2002 – bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2007. After Clarkson appeared on the show, Nasir Khan stated "I'd rather eat my own hair than shop with these two [Constantine and Woodall] again". The show was nominated for the Features Award at the BAFTAS in both 2002 and 2003.British Academy Film Awards – Nominations and Winners 2000 to present – bafta.org. Retrieved 25 March 2007. On the show Big Impression, impressionist Ronni Ancona took to spoofing Constantine's presenting techniques on What Not to Wear.Ann Barlow. McGowan's latest makeover – thisislondon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
For charity, in 2002 during the BBC's Children in Need programme, both Constantine and Woodall performed their own version of Madonna's hit single "Vogue".Press Release. The Big Night on BBC Television – bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2007. They became the faces of Nescafé in 2003 and featured in television advertisements promoting the brand of coffee. As part of their contract, Constantine and Woodall gave a Nescafé competition winner a £10,000 makeover.
2004–05 Following its ratings success, What Not to Wear was promoted from BBC Two to BBC One in 2004. The format was changed slightly, to a 60-minute show with two makeovers instead of a 30-minute show with only one makeoverJason Deans. Makeover queens switch to BBC1 – guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2007. and also saw Constantine spending a day as one of her subjects. What Not to Wear was also aired in countries such as Spain and Portugal as well as in the American continent.
Constantine appeared on Children in Need in 2004, which included a special segment in which she gave the fictional EastEnders characters Little Mo and Mo Harris a makeover in the style of What Not to Wear, commenting on them with her usual "no nonsense" approach.Press Release. Children In Need 2004 – bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2007. In 2005, Constantine voiced a robot version of herself in the science fiction series, Doctor Who.