Nationality: United Kingdom Stella McCartney was born in 1971 and graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1995. Her final year collection was picked up by a number of largeretailers, including Browns and Bergdorf Goodman. She landed a job as creative director at Cloé two years later. In 2001 McCartney left Cloé and re-launched her own line which was backed by theGucci Group. She opened her first store in New York's meatpacking district in 2002 and her next in London and LA in 2003. She is an animal rights activist and refuses to use leather or fur in any of her designs. Won Designer of the Year and Brand of the Year at the 2012 British Fashion Awards in fall 2012. Outfitted the United Kingdom's Olympic athletes in 2012. Received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth) in March 2013 for her contributions to fashion. Father is Sir Paul McCartney. Awards: McCartney received the VH1/Vogue Designer of the Year award in 2000 in New York. Her father Paul presented the award to her; she thanked him in her acceptance speech and dedicated the award to her late mother Linda. This was followed by the Woman of Courage Award for work against cancer at the prestigious Unforgettable Evening event (2003, Los Angeles), the Glamour Award for Best Designer of the Year (2004, London), the Star Honoree at the Fashion Group International Night of the Stars (2004, New York), the Organic Style Woman of the Year Award (2005, New York), the Elle Style Award for Best Designer of the Year Award (2007, London), Best Designer of the Year at the British Style Awards (2007, London), Best Designer of The Year at the Spanish Elle Awards (2008, Barcelona), and the Green Designer of the Year at the ACE Awards (2008, New York). In 2009, she was honoured by the NRDC, featured in the Time 100 and recognised as Glamour Woman of the Year. In November 2011, she was presented with the Red Carpet Award by the British Fashion Council; and in the 2013 New Year Honours, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to fashion. In 2012, McCartney was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his artwork – the album cover for The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires. In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. In June 2017, McCartney was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her choices included "Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads and "Blackbird" by the Beatles. Her favourite was "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys. She would later receive the Special Recognition Award for Innovation at the 2017 Fashion Awards. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to fashion and sustainability.