Ricky Ann Low-Beer
| Ricky Lauren | |
|---|---|
| Born | New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Hunter College |
| Occupation | Author, artist, photographer |
| Spouse(s) | Ralph Lauren (m. 1964) |
| Children | 3, including Dylan and David Lauren |
| Parent(s) | Margaret Vytouch Rudolph Low-Beer |
Ricky Lauren, also known as Ricky Ann Low-Beer, is an author, artist and photographer and wife of fashion designer Ralph Lauren. She is also a psychotherapist.
Born Ricky Ann Low-Beer, she grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of Austrian immigrants, Margaret Vytouch and Rudolph Low-Beer. Lauren was an English major at Hunter College. She met her future husband Ralph Lauren at the eye doctor's office where she was working part-time. Lauren also taught fifth grade and danced for a time in The Bronx. On December 20, 1964, she married Ralph Lauren in New York City.
Lauren has supported her husband's career as a kind of "silent partner", as summarized by The New York Times. These activities included attending fashion industry events or charities with him. She hosted a party with her husband at the Player's Club in 1977 following his appearance at The Coty show in early October 1977. In 2002, they were patrons of the Round Hill Sugar Cane Carnival in Jamaica, that raised $112,000 the previous year, benefiting more than 60 charities. In 2000, she and her husband established a cancer center which is part of North General Hospital in Harlem. The couple also founded the Ralph and Ricky Lauren Center for the Performing Arts, which is located at the Lexington School for the Deaf, in New York City.
Lauren has been identified as the "Polo Persona", the model by which the Polo advertising campaigns are developed. Of being his muse, Ralph wrote in his memoir, "I didn't like the girl with all the makeup and high heels. I liked the girl in jeans and a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, wearing her boyfriend's jacket. That's the girl I am attracted to. That's the girl I married—Ricky." Ralph also acknowledged that when he began designing women's clothes, his interest was peaked because of his wife. She had difficulty finding clothes that she liked, which also fit well and were of good quality. Though he recognized that creating clothes that fit his wife's petite build would not fit average-sized women, Ralph went against the advice of experts making clothes that would appeal to Lauren.
After her children were in school, Lauren returned to college and got her degree and then worked as a psychotherapist.
Lauren is an is author, artist and photographer most prominently known for her lifestyle and cookbooks. One of her books is Cuisine, Lifestyle, and Legend of the Double RL Ranch, of which The New York Times says, "Here is a loving — and really beautiful — picture-book tribute (with history and recipes) to the spot near Telluride that spawned an empire built on denim shirts, tooled turquoise-buckle belts, and red-and-black horse blankets." It is a nod to her childhood dream to be a cowgirl, and it reflects her interest in a casual life style and simple Western-style cuisine.
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