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Meghan Markle recently disclosed to IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima that she could not audition for beauty or skincare ads because of her freckles. This came during a recent interview between the two on Markle's Confessions of a Female Founder podcast.
For the unversed, Lima founded IT Cosmetics in 2008 after having little to no luck finding cosmetics products that suited her hyperpigmentation and rosacea. In 2016, she sold her cosmetics company to L'Oreal for $1.2 billion. She remained its CEO for three years, making her L'Oreal's first female CEO.
On the April 29 episode of her new podcast, Markle revealed how her freckles were not considered a "sign of beauty," thereby hindering her ability to star in beauty ads.
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“That would have been when I was an actor, auditioning for commercials. And I remember my commercial agent could not submit me for beauty or skincare ads because I had freckles,” Markle said.
Markle added that the beauty industry's dated advertising methods left her unable to see herself reflected in the industry. She also praised Lima for having more diversity in her company by using models of different skin types, ages, and sizes, dubbing it a "revolutionary way to think about makeup and beauty at the time."
“That was such new thinking then. When you were bringing that to market that was so [unheard of]. Now it may seem more normalized. People listening now will be like ‘Well yeah of course,’ It was not an of course. It was a revolutionary way to think about makeup and beauty at the time.”
Jamie Kern Lima was a Denny's waitress before starting IT Cosmetics
Not much information is known about Jamie Kern Lima's early life. According to her LinkedIn profile, Lima has a bachelor's degree from Washington State University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
According to her website, she was a former waitress at Denny's, a former beauty pageant winner, and a former news anchor before she started her cosmetics company in 2008. She co-founded It Cosmetics with her husband Paulo Lima, whom she met during a statistics class at Columbia Business School.
During her recent podcast interview with Meghan Markle, Jamie Kern Lima revealed that she received multiple rejections after designing cosmetic products that catered to people with skin issues.
“I sent samples everywhere and none of them believed, at the time, in this idea of a product that works for people with skin issues and we show it on all ages and real people and sizes and skin tones. They would always say this to me, these words exactly, ‘Women will only buy makeup from images of unattainable aspiration.’ It was always those two words, ‘unattainable,’ which means you can’t even look like that ’cause it’s not real,” she said.
IT Cosmetics soon grew to become one of the largest cosmetics brands. This spurred L'Oreal to purchase it for $1.2 billion in 2016. According to Forbes, Jamie Kern Lima made over $410 million from the deal and continued as the company's CEO, stepping down from its day-to-day operations in 2019.
Additionally, Lima is also a podcaster and author. Her podcast, The Jamie Kern Lima Show, hosted Oprah Winfrey for its debut episode. Meanwhile, her 2024 book, WORTHY, made it into New York's bestseller list, making this her second book to achieve the feat. Her first was her 2021 memoir Believe It: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable.
She has two children with her husband, Paulo Lima.
Meghan Markle said Jamie Kern Lima offered advice for starting her lifestyle brand
Meghan Markle opened up about Jamie Kern Lima's advice when the Duchess began her lifestyle brand, As Ever. According to the website, the Duchess of Sussex recently launched her lifestyle brand, "inspired by her long-lasting love of cooking, entertaining, and hostessing with ease."
During the recent podcast interview, Markle revealed that Lima disagreed with the former's expedited timeline for the brand's launch. The Duchess admitted that while she didn't appreciate Lima's wisdom at the time, it turned out to be something she had "needed to hear."
"For me, starting a company, it’s newer, [I am] surrounded by very savvy business women friends. You and I had just become friends, and I was talking to you about business. I remember you said to me, ‘Okay, so what's the timeline?’ I said, ‘Oh, a couple months from now.’ You said, ‘That's too soon.’ And I didn't want to hear that, but you're right," she said.
Markle continued:
"You planted a seed that became a knowing for me, and it gave me the grace to have the space to take my time until it was right. To really not be concerned about someone else's urgency, or the media's urgency, or speculation's urgency, somehow becoming my urgency — to wait until you're ready. Even if I didn't want to hear it, it was the thing that I needed to hear."
Before her Confessions of a Female Founder appearance, Meghan Markle attended her first-ever podcast interview on Jamie Kern Lima's podcast on April 28, 2025.
