Daphne Guinness

Her father is Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, the eldest son of Diana Mitford and Bryan Guinness. Diana Mitford was the daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, the father of the Mitford sisters. Mitford divorced Guinness and married the leader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet of Ancoats. Daphne Guinness has said she did not know of Mosley's political affiliations, before she heard in 1980 on the BBC News that he had died.[2]

As a child, she grew up in the country houses owned by her family in England and Ireland.

Guinness' first work in fashion was with Isabella Blow.[3] She has worked with Karl Lagerfeld,[4] NARS, MAC, Akris, Gareth Pugh[5] and Philip Treacy, working with them artistically or as a model or both.

She was a friend of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen.[6] Scheduled to model for charity on the runway the day his suicide was announced, Guinness veiled herself in mourning.[7]

She designs fashion, jewellery, and perfume.[8] Since 1994, she has been on the International Best Dressed List.[9] In 2010, she was named in Tatler's top 10 best-dressed list. In 2011, she created a make-up line for MAC cosmetics.[10][11]

In 2011, Guinness was photographed by photographer Bryan Adams and featured on the cover of Zoo Magazine.[12]

Guinness has walked in two of Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief shows to raise funds for disaster victims.[13] In the same vein, in April 2008, she auctioned off part of her wardrobe, with the proceeds going to a struggling British charity called Womankind Worldwide, which deals with women's issues at home and abroad, such as domestic violence.[14]

In June 2010, Guinness purchased at auction the entire wardrobe of Isabella Blow, her friend who committed suicide in 2007. The lot was purchased prior to an auction which was arranged at Christie's.[15] She later announced that she would be displaying the wardrobe at Central Saint Martins and online, as well as starting a foundation to help with mental illness.[16] The official show, entitled "Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore," is set for display in November 2013 at Somerset House in London.[17]

In February 2013, Guinness, along with Baroness Monica von Neumann and Lynn Ban, donated a collection of her shoes to the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology's Shoe Obsession exhibit.[18]

In 1987, she married Spyros Niarchos, the second son of Stavros Niarchos, the shipping magnate.[25] The couple had three children. Her $39 million settlement, obtained at the time of her 1999 divorce, was added to her Guinness inheritance.[26]

She lives in London and Manhattan with her three children: Nicolas Stavros Niarchos (born 1989), Lex Spyros Niarchos (born 1991), and Ines Sophia Niarchos (born 1995).[2]

She has been romantically involved with French TV philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy for a number of years. In the February 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Guinness confirmed to journalist Derek Blasberg: "He is obviously the love of my life."[27][28]

• Daphne Guinness on Twitter