Real People Behind Big Names

Jimmy Choo signed off on the idea, freeing Tamara to take his name and run with it. Tamara's father backed his daughter financially, and in 1996, the first London based Jimmy Choo store opened. After 10 years, Jimmy Choo is now worth an estimated $325 million, with 40 locations worldwide, making Tamara Mellon one of the most successful businesswomen in Britain. "It was really about making shoes that I wanted to wear, what I knew my friends wanted to wear, and what we couldn't find," Tamara says.