Emma Grede cold-called Kris Jenner with an idea. Now she's worth $600 million.

Emma Grede has been named one of America's richest self-made women by Forbes, having built a billion-dollar empire alongside the Kardashians.

She co-founded Good American with Khloé Kardashian and was a founding partner of SKIMS with Kim — and it all started with a single cold call to Kris Jenner.

But beyond the celebrity deals and billion-dollar valuations lies a story of grit, risk and an unconventional brand of hustle that redefines what it means to build an empire.

Born in Plaistow, East London, Grede was the eldest of four girls raised by a single mother who had three children under five by the time she was 27. With her father out of the picture, Grede stepped in early to help raise her sisters.

"My energy had to be about, you know, making sure my sisters were fed and making sure that the house was clean and making sure we were safe," she told Stephen Bartlett recently when appearing on the Diary of a CEO (DOAC) podcast.

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"It was so much kind of hammered into me that this is where you're from, this is not where you need to stay. The world is your oyster, you can do anything — you're just going to have to work really, really hard."

School was never her strong suit. Grede dropped out at 15 and enrolled in London College of Fashion a year later, but left after six months because she couldn't afford to study full-time. Instead, she juggled part-time jobs and fashion industry placements, determined to break into the business.

At 26, Grede founded Independent Talent Brand Worldwide (ITB), a London-based talent management and entertainment marketing agency, backed by her husband, Jens Grede, and his business partner, Erik Torstensson.

During her tenure at ITB, Grede took a bold leap. On a job for one of the Kardashians, an agent introduced Grede to Kris Jenner and was given her number.

"So, I just called her," she told Stephen Bartlett.

Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Emma Grede attend the Good American Launch Event. Image: Getty.

The idea for Good American came to her when she noticed talent-based equity deals in the industry — giving celebrities equity rather than cash for endorsements. Quickly, she realised she was leaving money on the table.

"I was like, 'Well, who's going to pay me correctly? No one, so I'll create it myself,'" she told DOAC.

Though her husband was launching his own luxury denim brand, Frame, Grede had no idea how to manufacture denim herself. But one dinner changed everything.

"I sit at a dinner next to some guy who had invested heavily in a big plus-size retailer in America and he said to me, 'Emma, this space is exploding.' And he was telling me all about it and I looked on my phone, I looked at the retailer and I was like, 'That's gross. Nobody wants to dress in those clothes, that product is horrible.'"

Suddenly, everything fell into place.

"I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to create a denim company. I'm going to make all of the sizes, all the time, and I'm going to make everyone look hot, buster. End of.' That was it. I was like, 'Ding, ding, ding,'" she said.

She pitched the idea to Jenner, who told her to talk to Khloé.

Jens Grede and Emma Grede. Image: Getty.

In 2016, Khloé and Grede launched Good American, selling $US1 million worth of denim on its first day alone — the largest denim launch in history, according to the brand.

The following year, Grede and her husband moved to Los Angeles, where they now live with their four children: Grey, Lola, and twins Lake and Rafferty.

Grede has been open about her fertility struggles. After easily conceiving Grey and Lola, she faced multiple miscarriages with the twins.

"It was one of the hardest, most soul-destroying times of my life," she told DOAC. "I couldn't think about anything else."

She eventually turned to surrogacy.

In the US, Grede also struck up a friendship with Kim Kardashian, which would lead to her becoming a founding partner of SKIMS. She remains SKIMS' chief product officer while her husband serves as chief executive officer.

In 2024, Forbes named her one of America's richest self-made women, with an estimated net worth of $US390 million ($A605 million).

Her wealth comes from her stakes in SKIMS, Safely (the cleaning products brand she co-founded with Kris Jenner) and Good American, according to Forbes.

But "self-made" is a title she challenges.

"If you understood how many people there were around me just getting me here today," she told DOAC. "It takes so many people and so much skill and so much that I don't have."

Today, she chairs The Fifteen Percent Pledge, a nonprofit organisation working to get retailers to dedicate 15 per cent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. She's also the first Black woman to appear as a "Dragon" on Dragons' Den — and is about to join full-time.

Last month, she launched her own podcast, Aspire with Emma Grede, featuring candid conversations with entrepreneurs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Mellody Hobson, Michael Rubin, and Jay Shetty.

Emma Grede speaks onstage at the Fourth Annual Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala. Image: Getty.

Grede proudly admits she has "zero qualifications" for running billion-dollar brands — but she has grit, clarity and drive.

"I remember a boss very early on in my career saying, you know, 'Emma, you really ought to stay in your lane.' And if I think about where I've had like leaps of success in my career, it's always been when I've chosen not to stay in my lane, when I've really deliberately gone outside of my comfort zone," Grede said on the No Limits with Rebecca Jarvis podcast.

"So I'd say that's probably the advice that I have done well ignoring."

She's also made headlines for her blunt views on work-life balance. She's said it's an employee's responsibility — and that it's a red flag when candidates ask about it.

"I have four kids and I had to figure out how I would think about my own ambition balanced with my parenting, that's the truth," she told DOAC. "We have to have a level of honesty about what it takes to be really successful."

Her key advice? Don't be afraid to be bold and take a stance.

"You can't be a leader and a people-pleaser at the same time," she said.

"If you're walking around trying to make everybody happy, guess what? You won't.

"You have to have a focus on what it is that you're trying to do, and you have to be relentless in the pursuit of doing those things."

Feature image: Getty.