Pippa Middleton Biography

Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton (born 6 September 1983) is an English socialite, author, columnist, and the younger sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Middleton began receiving media attention with her appearance as the maid of honour at her sister's wedding to Prince William in 2011, and has continued to do so for her fashion sense and personal relationships.

Early life, inherited wealth and parents' business success

Philippa "Pippa" Middleton is the second of three children born to Michael Middleton, a former British Airways flight dispatcher, and Carole Middleton (ne Goldsmith), a former flight attendant.

Parents

Middleton's father, Michael, was born in 1949 in Leeds, now in West Yorkshire, and his grandmother, Olive Middleton, belonged to the Lupton family who, according to the City of Leeds archives, were "woollen manufacturers and landed gentry; a business and political dynasty"; previously unpublished pictures revealed in March 2015 that Olive Middleton had grown up on her family's Potternewton Hall Estate alongside her cousin, Baroness von Schunck, ne Kate Lupton. Baroness Airedale, the daughter of Baroness von Schunck, later lived at nearby Gledhow Hall Estate. A BBC documentary reported in 2014 that Gledhow Hall had been visited in 1885 by King Edward VII - at that time the Prince of Wales.

The family of Middleton's mother, Carole, are from London. Carole's ancestors worked as labourers and miners in County Durham.

Middleton's father had inherited large trust funds from his grandmother Olive Middleton. These funds enabled the Middleton family tradition of both private schooling and an "Oxbridge" university education to continue; Michael Middleton's father, Peter Middleton, was educated at Oxford University. Added to this wealth was Michael Middleton's wife's success as a businesswoman. In the mid-1980s, when her two eldest children were at a nursery school and the family was in Bradfield Southend, Carole Middleton set up Party Pieces, a company that began by making party bags and went on to sell party supplies and decorations by mail order. By 1995, both of Middleton's parents were directors and managers of the firm which had become so successful that it had moved into a range of farm buildings at Ashampstead Common, The company's success, along with the inherited Middleton wealth, has meant that Middleton's parents are reported to be millionaires. While at Bradfield Southend, Middleton and her sister were members of the local St Andrew's Brownie pack.

By 2012, Middleton's parents were the owners of Bucklebury Manor, a Georgian mansion on an estate of some 18 acres. Middleton's nephew, Prince George, spent his first few weeks at Bucklebury Manor.

Education

In 1995, her family moved to Bucklebury, Berkshire. Like her sister, Middleton was first educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne and Downe House School, a girls' day and boarding school in Cold Ash. She attended Marlborough College on a sports/all-rounder scholarship. Middleton then graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an English literature degree, where she shared a house with Lord Edward Innes-Ker, a son of the Duke of Roxburghe, and with Earl Percy, heir apparent of the Duke of Northumberland.

Career

Following her graduation, Middleton briefly worked in 2008 at a public relations firm promoting luxury products. She then had an events management job with Table Talk, a company based in London that organises corporate events and parties. Also in 2008, Tatler magazine named Middleton "the Number 1 Society Singleton", ahead of singer-songwriter James Blunt and Princess Eugenie of York, although in the same Tatler article she was described as someone who "goes to a lot of parties, but mainly as the caterer." Since then, she has often been described as a socialite. As part of a duo with her older sister, Middleton has received wide press coverage, focusing on her social life and her lifestyle. In April 2012, Time magazine listed Middleton as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Middleton currently works part-time for her parents' company Party Pieces, editing the web magazine Party Times.

Penguin Books paid Middleton a 400,000 advance for a book on party planning. The book, entitled Celebrate, was published in autumn 2012, and had lower than anticipated sales as many reviewers mocked it for the obviousness of its content. Middleton said that she was not using a ghost writer. In March 2013, Middleton parted from her literary agent.

Middleton is also a regular columnist for several publications. She has contributed articles to The Spectator magazine since December 2012 and began having a food column in the supermarket magazine Waitrose Kitchen beginning in Spring 2013. In June 2013 she was named a contributing editor of Vanity Fair writing a series of columns for the magazine. Beginning in September 2013, Middleton also writes a fortnightly sports and social column for The Sunday Telegraph. She parted ways from The Telegraph in May 2014.

In May 2013, she became the sole director and shareholder of PXM Enterprises Limited. The company is headquartered at 19 Portland Place in London. Its assets amounted to 211,521 in 2014, at the end of its first fiscal year.

Philanthropy

In April 2013, she became an ambassador to the Mary Hare School for deaf children in Berkshire.

In June 2014, she became an ambassador to the British Heart Foundation (BHF). That month, she took part in the Race Across America, a 3,000 mile cycling race across the United States, followed by the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, a 6.5km swimming competition in Istanbul, as two fundraising opportunities for the BHF. Her bicycle was also auctioned on eBay for the BHF. She then attended the BHF's Roll out the Red Ball at the Park Lane Hotel on 10 February 2015. She auctioned one of her L.K.Bennett dresses at the ball. She took part in the London to Brighton Bike Ride for the BHF on 21 June 2015.

Royal wedding

The official announcement of her sister's engagement came on 16 November 2010. Middleton served as the maid of honour. At the wedding, Middleton's white figure-hugging dress, which, like the bride's, was created by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, was highly praised in the media. Made of ivory crpe fabric, it was styled with a cowl at the front and organza-covered buttons at the back. Copies of the dress were soon available on the High Street where there was a great demand for them.

Arms

Film

In William & Kate, a television movie released on 18 April 2011 about her sister's romance, the part of Middleton was played by Mary Elise Hayden.