Natalie Massenet

Dame Natalie Massenet
Natalie Massenet at LeWeb at Les Docks Paris conference
Born	Natalie Rooney (1965-05-13) May 13, 1965 (age 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Residence	London, England
Nationality	British-American
Alma mater	UCLA
Occupation	Founder and chairman of Net-a-Porter; chair of British Fashion Council
Spouse(s)	Arnaud Massenet (divorced)
Children	1
Parent(s)	Robert L Rooney (d.2003) and Barbara F. Rooney (née Jones)
Awards	MBE, DBE

Dame Natalie Sara Massenet, DBE (née Rooney; born 13 May 1965) is a fashion entrepreneur and former journalist, who founded the designer fashion portal Net-a-Porter. Since 2013, she has been chairman of the British Fashion Council.

Credited by many as changing the way designer fashion is retailed, she has been described by The Observer as: "fashion's favourite self-made success story".

Massenet was born in Los Angeles, California on 13 May 1965, the daughter of American journalist turned film publicist Bob L. Rooney and Barbara Jones, a British model with Chanel and movie stand-in for Sophia Loren. She spent her early childhood in Paris, moving back to LA in 1976 with her father after her parents divorced.

Her first job after graduating from high school was in a menswear shop in Los Angeles and Massenet then attended UCLA, studying English Literature. After graduating, she spent a year in Tokyo working as a fashion model and stylist. Other early jobs included working as a receptionist at Universal Studios and assisting at Italian magazine Moda, where she worked with the then emerging photographer Mario Testino.

Massenet began her career as a fashion journalist at Women's Wear Daily (WWD) in 1993. She then moved on to Tatler in the UK, where she worked as assistant to Isabella Blow and her colleagues included Lucy Yeomans. She left to go freelance in 1998.

Massenet founded Net-a-Porter in 2000 in London as a website in magazine format for selling designer fashion. The idea came about after Massenet was attempting to source products online for a fashion shoot. The business was launched from Massenet's flat in Chelsea and she raised the £1.2m start-up costs with the help of her then husband. Initially the business operation was so low-key that Net-a-Porter's trademark black delivery boxes were stacked up in the bath.