#4960, Tessa Georgina KENNEDY

After studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, Tessa started her career in the 1960s at the London design firm of David Mlinaric, whose clients included Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. In 1968, after spending 3 years as partner with Mlinaric she won a competition to design the Grosvenor House Hotel, launching her own company with Michael Sumner that same year. In 1986 she reformed as Tessa Kennedy Design, Ltd., a company which has won several design accolades. Her clients have included De Beers, Stanley Kubrick, George Harrison, King Hussein of Jordan and London hotels Claridge's, The Berkley, and the Ritz for which she was voted Designer of the Year. Kennedy also renovated rooms at Michael Winner's Woodland House.

A member of the British Interior Design Association (BIDA) , Kennedy was the first woman to work in Saudi Arabia with her own company. Following two years as President of the International Society of Interior Designers in Britain and three years on the International Board she was made a Fellow of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).