India Hicks

India Amanda Caroline Hicks (born 5 September 1967) is a British writer, interior designer, television presenter, and former fashion model. She ran an American luxury lifestyle brand from 2015 until 2019.[1] A descendant of the Mountbatten family, she is, as of 2011, 678th in line for the British throne.[2]

India Hicks
Born
India Amanda Caroline Hicks

5 September 1967
London, England
EducationGordonstoun School
New England School of Photography
OccupationDesigner, writer, television host, model
Children4, plus a 5th under her guardianship
Parent(s)David Nightingale Hicks
Lady Pamela Mountbatten
RelativesMountbatten family

Early life

Hicks is the third child of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and David Nightingale Hicks, an interior designer of the 1960s and 1970s. Through her maternal grandfather, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, she is a second cousin to Prince Charles, who is also her godfather.[3]

Brought up in London and Oxfordshire, she attended Gordonstoun school in Scotland, until she was expelled for entertaining boys in her room.[4][5][6] She spent holidays at the family estate in Ireland and at her father's self-designed and built Bahamian-holiday home.[7] In 1981, she served as bridesmaid to Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to Prince Charles.[8]

Career

Hicks has published five books: An Entertaining Story, Island Life, Island Beauty, Island Style, and A Slice of England.

Aged 17, she drove from England to Italy to meet designer Emilio Pucci. On arrival, he made her model all of his catsuits.[9] In 1990, Hicks graduated from the New England School of Photography in Boston, Massachusetts, with a concentration in Color and Editorial photography[10] and graduated with Honors. She later moved to New York City, and developed a career as a model in the 1980s and 1990s, working for Ralph Lauren and J. Crew amongst others,[7] and featuring in Tatler magazine; she was also the face of British brand Viyella.[11]

Hicks renovated and developed several plantation style guest houses and a hotel in the Caribbean with her partner David Flint Wood. She also owns the boutique 'The Sugar Mill'[12] where she sells clothes, bed linens and items gathered while travelling.

In 2007, Hicks hosted the second season of the Bravo interior design competition TV series Top Design.[13]

In 2011, she commentated on the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton for both ITV and ABC. She has been filmed as a royal commentator for the BBC, ABC, Channel 4, NBC, Oprah Winfrey,[14] and Larry King.[15]

In 2015, she (along with business partners Konstantin Glasmacher and Nicholas Keuper) founded India Hicks, Inc., a lifestyle brand that is sold through a multi-level marketing (MLM) or direct sales model. She announced via Instagram on 10 July 2019 that she will be discontinuing the brand.

In 2019, Hicks became involved in the rebuilding of the Bahamian Islands destroyed by hurricane Dorian. She now sits on the advisory board of Global Empowerment Mission.[16]

Personal life

Hicks's partner, David Flint Wood, a former Saatchi & Saatchi ad-man[17] turned-decorator, is the father of Hicks's four children. They are also the legal guardians of a Bahamian teenager, Wesley.

  • Felix Austen Flint Wood (born 23 May 1997, Miami, Florida)
  • Amory John Flint Wood (born 25 June 1999, Miami, Florida)
  • Conrad Lorenzo Flint Wood (born 25 April 2003, Miami, Florida)
  • Domino Carmen Flint Wood (born 17 December 2007, Miami, Florida), goddaughter of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece

The family lives in the Bahamas,[6] but they also maintain a house "America Farm" near Ewelme in Oxfordshire, England, not far from where Hicks was raised.[18][19]

In 2020, Hicks pleaded guilty to shoplifting a coat at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court and was ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge.[20]

References
  1. Medina, Marcy (6 April 2015). "India Hicks Launches New Collection, Company". Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. "Home Page". www.wargs.com. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  3. Nugent, Emma (6 January 2000). "Charles: The Godfather". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  4. http://audreymward.com/allow-me-to-introduce-my-daughter-miss-bossy-boots/
  5. "My Secret Life: India Hicks, interior designer, 42 - Profiles". The Independent. London. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  6. Williams, Sally (6 May 2012). "India Hicks: He was all alone – I cried and took him in". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  7. Muhlke, Christine (19 February 2009). "Profile in Style: India Hicks". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  8. Christine Haughney, "A Royal Wedding? She's Been There", The New York Times, 1 April 2011
  9. "An Interview With India Hicks". Wall Street Journal. 23 April 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  10. "Jewelry designer India Hicks drops in at the Boston Design Center". Boston. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  11. Alexander, Hilary (17 January 2011). "India Hicks, the royal bridesmaid with a no-frills attitude, is the new face of Viyella". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  12. "Harbour Island Bahamas - India Hicks Harbour Island Insider Guide". Luxurytravel.about.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  13. "India Hicks". Bravo TV. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  14. "Princess Diana's Bridesmaid - India Hicks". Oprah.com. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  15. "Interview With India Hicks, Prince Charles's Goddaughter - Transcripts". CNN. 25 March 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  16. "INDIA HICKS". GEM.
  17. Marianne MacDonald (29 March 2004). "Runaway bridesmaid". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  18. Nast, Condé. "Inside India Hicks and David Flint Wood's Charming English Country House". Architectural Digest.
  19. Luckel, Madeleine. "Inside India Hicks's Dreamy English Country Home". Vogue.
  20. Wet, Nici de. "Prince Charles' goddaughter branded a thief!". You. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Jordan Brudenell		 Succession to the British throne Succeeded by
The Duke of Edinburgh
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