India Hicks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | India Amanda Caroline Hicks 5 September 1967 Lambeth, London, England [1] |
| Alma mater | Gordonstoun School New England School of Photography |
| Occupation(s) | Designer, writer, businesswoman, former model |
| Television | Bravo's Top Design show (season 2) |
| Spouse |
David Flint Wood (m. 2021) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | David Nightingale Hicks Lady Pamela Mountbatten |
| Relatives | Mountbatten family Mountbatten-Windsor |
| Website | indiahicks |
India Amanda Caroline Hicks (born 5 September 1967) is a British designer, writer, businesswoman and former fashion model. After graduating from the New England School of Photography, Hicks became an interior designer and a model for Ralph Lauren, among others. She moved to the Bahamas in 1996, where she published books, promoted home and beauty products, and introduced a line of jewellery. Hicks travels frequently to disaster sites in her role with the non-profit organisation Global Empowerment Mission. A daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks, she is a descendant of the Mountbatten family and a relative of the British royal family.
Hicks was born in 1967[2][3] in London.[4] Hicks is the third child of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and David Nightingale Hicks. Her mother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and her father was a famous interior designer.[5] She is the granddaughter of the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma and the second cousin and goddaughter of Charles III.[3][6]
Hicks grew up in Oxfordshire, England.[7] She spent holidays at the family estate in Ireland and at her father's self-designed and built Bahamian-holiday home.[6] As a child, she was a tomboy who kept her distance from royal affairs.[8] Hicks was exposed to design at an early age through her father and brother, who were both architects.[5] The 11-year-old Hicks was on holiday in Ireland in 1979 when her grandfather was killed by a bomb planted on his boat.[9][10] In 1981, she served as bridesmaid to Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to Prince Charles.[8]
Hicks went to boarding school in Scotland at Gordonstoun, from which she was expelled for having boys in her room.[3] She then backpacked across India.[3] Hicks moved to Boston, Massachusetts at age 18 to study photography[11][12][13] at the New England School of Photography,[14] where she graduated in 1990.[citation needed]
After graduating college, Hicks' father introduced her to Emilio Pucci in Florence, Italy, where she modelled swimsuits.[15] Later, she modelled for Ralph Lauren in New York City,[15] Tod's,[16] J.Crew,[17] and others.[18] She lived in Paris for three years, before moving to New York City for three years.[11] Hicks moved to the Bahamas in 1996.[18]
In the Bahamas, Hicks restored homes, invested and remodelled a hotel, and published several books on design and lifestyle.[8] Her first book called Island Life was a design book with photographs of Hibiscus Hill, a house she designed.[11][17] This was followed by a second book, Island Beauty,[5] and a third book on photography and design, Island Style.[19] Hicks also started a boutique shop in the Bahamas called the Sugar Mill Trading Company with business partner Linda Griffin.[5] The shop sells jewellery, clothes, household goods, and other items.[12]
From 2005 to 2014, Hicks worked with Crabtree & Evelyn as a spokeswoman and creative consultant for home and skincare products.[12][13] The company created the India Hicks Island Living and India Hicks Island Night lines of soaps, candles, and perfumes.[8][12][17]
In 2008, Hicks co-hosted the second season of the Bravo interior design show Top Design in Los Angeles, California.[6][12][17] She introduced her own line of jewellery in 2011.[12] Hicks also became a public commentator on events surrounding the royal family and the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.[17][20] In 2015, Hicks created an e-commerce venture called India Hicks Inc. with partners Nicholas Keuper and HauteLook.[13][14] It sells jewellery, handbags, perfumes, beauty products, and other goods.[13][14] The business grew to more than $10 million in annual revenues.[13]
Hicks also worked with the Home Shopping Network on a line of bedding products called India Hicks Island Living.[18]
Hicks met her husband David Flint Wood as a child.[14] They re-connected as adults[18] during a holiday in the Bahamas.[14][15] She was pregnant with their first child four months after moving to the Bahamas in 1996.[4][11] They have five children, including a son she adopted from a local waitress who died of breast cancer:
[3][21] In late 2020 she announced plans to marry Flint Wood.[21] She married Flint Wood on 10 September 2021 at St Bartholomew's parish church in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire.[22]
The couple have a house, "America Farm" in Ewelme, Oxfordshire, built on land that Hicks had inherited and replacing two redundant farm workers' cottages.[23][24][15][25] Hicks' book about the project, India Hicks: The Story of Four Houses – A Slice of England, was published by Rizzoli International Publications in 2018.[26][27]
Hicks has competed in several marathons. She also rode a 100-mile (160 km) bike ride to raise money for cancer victims, in memory of her adopted son's biological mother.[3] She partners with a local food bank[28] and with the disaster relief agency Global Empowerment Mission (GEM).[29] She joined the Global Empowerment Mission's board in 2019.[30] On behalf of GEM, she visited the Abaco Islands after Hurricane Dorian, Alabama after it experienced a tornado, Florida after the surfside condominium collapse, and Poland during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[30] She is also an ambassador for The Prince's Trust, a charity that helps young people find training, and work opportunities.[31]
In 2020 Hicks pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court to stealing a coat and was ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge.[32]
