# Trinny Woodall

Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964) is a British beauty entrepreneur, businesswoman, and the founder of cosmetics brand Trinny London.
Woodall initially rose to fame as a fashion and makeover expert, television presenter and author. With Susannah Constantine she formed half of the duo Trinny and Susannah; together they wrote a weekly fashion column for The Daily Telegraph before being commissioned by the BBC to host What Not to Wear in 2001. This was followed by several other television projects, books and clothing ranges.

## Early life

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

## Career
### Early career

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

### Television

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. The show itself was nominated for the Features Award at the BAFTAS in both 2002 and 2003.
With What Not to Wear proving popular on BBC America, they frequently contributed as makeover and fashion experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
After What Not to Wear, Woodall and Constantine transferred from the BBC to ITV, and 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.
In 2017 Woodall founded direct-to-consumer cosmetics brand Trinny London.

### Books

Woodall and Constantine have co-written numerous fashion advice books, which have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Their books have been translated throughout the world and have placed them number one on both The Sunday Times best-seller list and The New York Times best-seller list.
In 2023 Woodall published the book Fearless, and an accompanying podcast of the same name.

## Awards

| Year | Country | Organisation | Award |
| 2020 | UK | CEW Achiever Awards | Achiever Award |
| 2021 | UK | LDC | Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders The Digital Disruptor Award |

## Television credits

| Year | Programme | Other notes |
| 2001–2005 | What Not to Wear | Herself |
| 2002 | The Kumars at No. 42 | Herself, interview |
| 2003 | What Not to Wear on the Red Carpet | Herself |
| 2003 | V Graham Norton | Herself, interview |
| 2003 | Parkinson | Herself, interview |
| 2004 | The Terry and Gaby Show | Herself, interview |
| 2004 | Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | Herself, interview |
| 2004 | Children in Need | Herself |
| 2004 | Top Gear | Herself, interview and racing |
| 2004 | This Morning | Herself, interview |
| 2005 | Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05 | Herself |
| 2005 | Parkinson | Herself, interview |
| 2005 | This Morning | Herself, interview |
| 2005 | Doctor Who | Episode "Bad Wolf", voice of Trine-e |
| 2006 | Parkinson | Herself, interview |
| 2006 | This Morning | Herself, interview |
| 2006 | Sport Relief | Herself |
| 2006 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Herself, interview |
| 2006 | The Sharon Osbourne Show | Herself, interview |
| 2006 | The View | Herself, interview |
| 2006 | The Today Show | Herself |
| 2006–2007 | Trinny & Susannah Undress... | Herself |
| 2007 | Richard & Judy | Herself, interview |
| 2007 | Comic Relief Does The Apprentice | Herself, contestant |
| 2007 | Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | Herself, interview |
| 2007 | GMTV; LK Today | Herself, interview |
| 2007 | Good Morning America | Herself |
| 2007 | This Morning | Herself |
| 2009 | Making Over America | Herself |
| 2009 | Would I lie To You? | Herself |
| 2009 | 7 days on the breadline | Herself |
| 2010 | Trinny & Susannah: Missie Vlaanderen (channel Vitaya/Belgium) | Herself |
| 2011 | My Life in Books BBC2 | Herself, Interview |
| 2011 | Trinny & Susannah ubierają Polskę (channel TVN Style Poland) | Herself |
| 2011–2012 | Trinny & Susannah: Missie Holland (channel RTL NL) | Herself |
| 2011–2014 | Trinny & Susannah: Stylar om Sverige (channel TV4 Plus Sweden) | Herself |
| 2011–2015 | "Trinny & Susannah: Making Over Israel" (Channel 10, Israel) | Herself |
| 2011–2015 | Trinny & Susannah: Oppdrag Norge (channel FEM) | Herself |
| 2013 | Trinny & Susannah's Makeover Mission India(TLC) | Herself |
| 2015 | The Real Housewives of New York City | Herself |
| 2016 | ITV This Morning | Herself |
| 2019 | RTE Ireland | Herself |
| 2020 | Sky News | Herself |
| 2020 | The Six O'Clock Show | Herself |
| 2020 | Sunrise | Herself |
| 2021 | BBC News | Herself |
| 2021 | CBNC | Herself |
| 2021 | BBC Breakfast | Herself |
| 2021 | The Six O'Clock Show | Herself |
| 2021 | Today Weekend Edition | Herself |
| 2021–2022 | Marilyn Dennis Show | Herself |
| 2022 | Studio 10 | Herself |
| 2022 | The AM Show | Herself |
| 2022 | RTL Boulervard | Herself |
| 2022 | Today Show | Herself |
| 2023 | ITV This Morning | Herself |

## Personal life

Woodall married entrepreneur and former drummer Jonathan Elichaoff in 1999. They had a daughter about 2003. 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.
In 2013, Woodall controversially began a relationship with Charles Saatchi. Saatchi had recently been divorced six weeks prior by ex-wife Nigella Lawson, following a notable incident of him strangling Lawson that came to light after being photographed by a paparazzi photographer. Woodall claimed to not know about the incident, despite it being widely publicised at the time. In 2023, after ten years, Woodall and Saatchi broke up, with Woodall citing she “felt alone” in the relationship, and that it felt “very good” to be single again.