Trinny Woodall

Trinny Woodall
Born	Sarah-Jane Duncanson Woodall (1964-02-08) 8 February 1964 (age 60) Marylebone, London, England
Occupation(s)	Founder and CEO of Trinny London, businesswoman, make-over and fashion expert, television presenter, author
Years active	1996–present
Notable credit(s)	What Not to Wear Trinny & Susannah Undress... Trinny & Susannah Undress the Nation
Spouse	Johnny Elichaoff ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2009)​
Children	1
Relatives	Sir John Duncanson (grandfather)
Website	trinnylondon.com

Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964)^[1] is a British beauty entrepreneur, businesswoman, and the founder and CEO of direct-to-consumer beauty brand, Trinny London, which launched in 2017 and currently employs over 220 people.^[2]

Woodall initially rose to fame as a fashion and makeover expert, television presenter and author. She was part of a makeover duo with Susannah Constantine, with whom she teamed up to write a weekly fashion column for The Daily Telegraph. They were then commissioned by the BBC to host What Not to Wear in 2001, which was followed by several other television projects, books and clothing ranges.

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, controller of the British steel industry in the last two years of the war, who 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.^[3][4]

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,^[5] 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.^[4] She has described one of the boarding schools as "cruel" and "sadistic".^[4] 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.^[5] Woodall also attended boarding schools in France and Germany between the ages of twelve and fifteen.^[3] 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.^[3]

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.^[6] The style guide highlighted affordable high-street fashion, with the pair using themselves to demonstrate clothing that suited different figures.^[4] Woodall assumed the role of stylist and made the duo's business decisions.^[7]

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.^[8] The show itself was nominated for the Features Award at the BAFTAS in both 2002 and 2003.^[9]

With What Not to Wear proving popular on BBC America, they frequently contributed as makeover and fashion experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[10]

After What Not to Wear, Woodall and Constantine transferred from the BBC to ITV, and Constantine 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.

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, Trinny published her Sunday Times bestseller Fearless, a practical manual about finding your style, increasing your confidence and uplifting your life. The accompanying Fearless podcast also launched in 2023 and tells the stories of inspirational people who have overcome challenges and fears to thrive.

Woodall married entrepreneur and former drummer Jonathan Elichaoff in 1999. They had a daughter about 2003.^[15][16] 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.^[17][18]

• Trinny and Susannah

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