Jamie Kern Lima

Jamie Kern Lima (née Jamie Marie Kern) is an American entrepreneur, investor and media personality. She is recognized as the co-founder of IT Cosmetics and the first female chief executive officer of a L'Oréal brand in the company's history.[2] In 2016, Kern Lima sold IT Cosmetics to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion and has been included on the Forbes' list of "America's Richest Self-Made Women" since 2017.[3][4]

Jamie Kern Lima
Born
Jamie Marie Kern
NationalityAmerican
EducationWashington State University, Columbia Business School
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • investor
  • media personality
Years active1999-present
Known forCo-founder of IT Cosmetics
TelevisionKNDU
Big Brother
Baywatch
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
SpousePaulo Lima[1]
Children2
AwardsMiss Washington USA 2000

Early life

Kern Lima was the first member of her family to attend college and went to Washington State University, where she graduated valedictorian.[2][5] She received her Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School in 2004.[6] During college, she was a waitress at Denny's and bagged groceries at Safeway.[2]

Business career

In 2008, Kern Lima co-founded IT Cosmetics after having difficulties with makeup products due to rosacea and hyperpigmentation.[7] The business struggled over the following years as beauty retailers rejected her products. Kern Lima was featured on a 10-minute QVC segment in which she wiped her makeup off, revealing her bare face to illustrate the use of IT Cosmetics concealers. All products sold out by the end of the segment.[8]

By 2015, the company had more than $182 million in net sales.[2] She appeared in more than 1,000 live QVC shows, where IT Cosmetics became the largest beauty brand on QVC's network. It was acquired by L'Oréal for $1.2 billion in 2016.[8] Kern Lima remained with the company upon the acquisition and was the first female chief executive officer of a L'Oréal brand. In August 2019, Kern Lima announced on Instagram that she would be leaving the company.[9] Kern Lima has been included on the Forbes' list of "America's Richest Self-Made Women" since 2017 and the third youngest on the list behind Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.[4]

Media appearances

Kern Lima won the Baywatch College Search in 1999, and appeared on an episode of the television series. She won the title of Miss Washington USA in late 1999 and competed in the Miss USA 2000 pageant held in Branson, Missouri.[10] After considering a career in finance, she applied on a dare to be a contestant in the first season of the reality television series Big Brother.[2] Kern Lima was the last female houseguest left on that season.[11]

After Big Brother, she started her career as a morning news anchor at KNDU in Tri-Cities, Washington.[12][13] She also worked as a field reporter and did live reports from Vatican City for KNDU in Kennewick on Pope John Paul II's death. In 2006, she left KNDU and moved to Portland, Oregon, to work as a news anchor and reporter for KPTV.

Personal life

Kern Lima resides in Los Angeles, California. She is married to Paulo Lima and has two children.[14]

References
  1. Collins, Allison (2019-08-29). "It Cosmetics Founder Jamie Kern Lima to Exit Business". Women's Wear Daily.
  2. Hess, Abigail (2018-05-30). "This CEO went from bagging groceries to building a billion-dollar cosmetics business—here's how". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  3. Scipioni, Jade (2021-03-09). "IT Cosmetics Jamie Kern Lima: 'I lived completely burnt out for almost a decade'". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. Taylor, Katie The Youngest Of America's Richest Self-Made Women
  5. Kickham, Debbi (2019-10-27). "Billionaire Jamie Kern Lima's Top Travel Tips And Trips". Forbes.
  6. "Jamie Kern Lima '04". Columbia Business School. 2019-03-28. Archived from the original on 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  7. Collins, Allison L'Oréal to Acquire IT Cosmetics for $1.2B
  8. Frey, Kaitlyn IT Cosmetics Founder Jamie Kern Lima on Business, Beauty and Breaking Boundaries
  9. Sorvino, Chloe. "L'Oreal's Only Female CEO, The Founder Of IT Cosmetics, Is Leaving". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  10. "Meet the Former News Anchor Who Started a Beauty Line". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  11. Mendoza, Michael (2000-09-28). "Jamie's exit from house leaves all-male finale". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  12. Yates, Jacqueline Laurean How this former news anchor turned her beauty problems into a paycheck
  13. IT Cosmetics CEO on building her billion-dollar brand
  14. Collins, Allison (2016-05-17). "IT Cosmetics' Jamie Kern Lima Stresses Authenticity". Women's Wear Daily.
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