Being in the headlines is old news to Tamara Mellon.
She is the co-founder of Jimmy Choo, the high-end shoe label worn by celebrities and fashion-savvy women all over the globe. She’s the ex-wife of Matthew Mellon II, great-great-grandnephew of Andrew William Mellon, of the Mellon banking and oil dynasty. She’s been linked in the tabloids to Kid Rock, Robbie Williams, Pharrell, and Girls Gone Wild founder, Joe Francis. She’s currently dating Christian Slater.
Now, she’s suing her mother.
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Last week, Mellon filed a civil complaint claiming that after the 2004 sale of her company, Jimmy Choo, her mother, Ann Yeardye, mistakenly received stock and refused to return it. Now, she is seeking $10 million in damages, which she says will go to her 5-year-old daughter, Araminta Mellon.
She has said in a statement issued by her lawyer, “It is with immense sadness that I take this action, but I see no other way to protect my daughter’s interests, which are my paramount concern. The property in question was to help secure my daughter’s future, and I am baffled by my mother’s refusal to return assets which rightfully do not belong to her. The action I have initiated today seems the only course available to me.”
It’s possible that public drama is in Tamara Mellon’s genes. Her parents, Ann and Tommy Yeardye, were never far from the spotlight. Ann Yeardye was a model for Chanel. Tommy Yeardye, an initial investor in Vidal Sassoon, was engaged to actress Diana Dors. The famous blonde, known as the “British Marilyn Monroe” met Tommy Yeardye when he was working as a stunt double in the 1957 movie The Long Haul.
Tamara Mellon is also no stranger to the courtroom. She had a highly publicized divorce from Matthew Mellon II in 2003. Their breakup stemmed from his alleged drug use and her affair with the 22-year-old Oscar Humphries, son of Dame Edna actor, Barry Humphries.
The divorce got even more complicated when it was discovered that Matthew Mellon had hired Active Investigation Services to investigate his wife to ferret out the finances details of Jimmy Choo Ltd. Tamara Mellon accused her then husband of hacking into her personal computer and invading her privacy.
Although Matthew Mellon did hire Active Investigation Services, he ended up avoiding any criminal charges because he did not know that the agency he hired would be breaking the law. However, David Carroll, an employee of Active Investigation Services, was convicted of charges related to computer hacking and phone tapping. Carroll was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in jail.
After the divorce, Tamara Mellon and Matthew Mellon remain friends. Even though she said in court that Matthew was “totally incapable,” it was most likely her testimony that proved Matthew’s innocence in the scheme to hack into her computer. Tamara told Oprah in February 2006, “Matthew’s been sober for a year and a half and he is being a fabulous father to Minty.”
Matthew Mellon has continued to dabble in the fashion industry, founding Harry’s of London, a men’s footwear line. He’s engaged to model Noelle Reno, with whom he started the cashmere fashion line Degrees of Freedom. In a December 2007 interview with W magazine, he acknowledged, “I owe everything to Tamara.”
Tamara Mellon’s life hasn’t slowed since Jimmy Choo Ltd was sold in February to TowerBrook Capital Partners for approximately $364 million. She remains a substantial shareholder and has stayed on as the president of the shoe and accessory line, working with creative director Sandra Choi. Choi is the niece of the original Jimmy Choo, whom Mellon bought out of the company years earlier.
In May, 2007, Tamara Mellon became a director for the fashion label, Halston, which was recently acquired by Harvey Weinstein. Mellon’s former chief commercial officer at Jimmy Choo, Bonnie Takhar, is taking the role of president and CEO. Tamara Mellon will join famed celeb stylist Rachel Zoe on the Halston board.
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