Jamie Kern Lima

Jamie Kern Lima (née Jamie Marie Kern) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and media personality. She co-founded IT Cosmetics, which she sold to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion, in 2016, becoming the first female chief executive officer of a L'Oréal brand.^[2] Kern Lima has been included on the Forbes' list of "America's Richest Self-Made Women," since 2017.^[3][4]

Jamie Kern Lima
Born	Jamie Marie Kern
Nationality	American
Education	Washington State University, Columbia Business School
Occupations	Entrepreneur investor media personality
Years active	1999–present
Known for	Co-founder of IT Cosmetics
Television	KNDU Big Brother Baywatch
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Spouse	Paulo Lima[1]
Children	2
Awards	Miss Washington USA 2000

Early life

Kern Lima was the first member of her family to attend college and went to Washington State University, where she graduated valedictorian.^[2][5] She received her Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, in 2004.^[6] During college, she was a waitress at Denny's and bagged groceries at Safeway.^[2] She learned, in her 20s, that she was adopted.^[7]

Early career

Kern Lima won the Baywatch College Search, in 1999, and appeared on an episode of the television series. She won the title of Miss Washington USA, in late 1999, and she competed in the Miss USA 2000 pageant, which was held in Branson, Missouri.^[8] After considering a career in finance, she applied, on a dare, to be a contestant in the first season of the reality television series Big Brother.^[2] Kern Lima was the last female houseguest left on that season.^[9]

After Big Brother, she started her career as a morning news anchor at KNDU in Tri-Cities, Washington.^[10][11] She also worked as a field reporter and did live reports from Vatican City for KNDU in Kennewick on Pope John Paul II's death.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, she left KNDU and moved to Portland, Oregon to work as a news anchor and reporter for KPTV.^{[citation needed]}

Cosmetics career

In 2008, Kern Lima co-founded IT Cosmetics after having difficulties with makeup products due to rosacea and hyperpigmentation.^[12] The business struggled over the following years as beauty retailers rejected her products. Kern Lima was featured on a 10-minute QVC segment in which she wiped her makeup off, revealing her bare face to illustrate the use of IT Cosmetics concealers. All products sold out by the end of the segment.^[13]

Kern Lima appeared in more than 1,000 live QVC shows and IT Cosmetics became the largest beauty brand on QVC's network. By 2015, the company had more than $182 million in net sales.^[2] Kern Lima remained with IT Cosmetics upon its acquisition by L'Oréal brand in 2016 until August 2019, when she announced she would be leaving the company.^[14]

Personal life

Kern Lima resides in Los Angeles, California. She is married to Paulo Lima and has two children.^[15]

Publications

• Believe IT: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable. Gallery Books. March 25, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9821-5780-7.
• Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life. Hay House Inc. February 20, 2024. ISBN 978-1-4019-7760-3.