Jennifer Meyer
Jennifer Meyer, the Los Angeles jewelry designer, on her self-funded 2005 start, the Barneys order, Net-a-Porter, her Palisades store and her two marriages.
Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized and converted to WebP.
Enamel Lessons From Edith Meyer
Jennifer Meyer's grandmother, Edith Meyer, taught her enamel work when she was six, a story Meyer told USA Today in 2006 and still tells on her company's own site. Her father is Ron Meyer, who was president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios when that profile ran.
Her first jobs were in fashion public relations, first for Giorgio Armani and then for Ralph Lauren. At Ralph Lauren she put money aside with a plan to start her own line.
A Barneys Order and a $25,000 Loan
Meyer started the company in Los Angeles in 2005. Some profiles give 2003, but her own site, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and a 2022 Glossy interview all put the start in 2005.
The money was small. "I started my company with less than $10,000," she told Glossy. The first large wholesale order came from Barneys New York, and filling it took more cash than she had, so she borrowed $25,000. She told Glossy she repaid the loan within six months.
She has not taken outside money since. "I own my company 100%. I've never raised $1," she said in the same interview.
Gold Leaves in The Break-Up
The pieces that got her noticed were small 18-karat gold leaves on fine chains. They appeared in the 2006 film The Break-Up, and Meyer made a locket worn by Kirsten Dunst's character in Spider-Man 3. By the summer of 2006, USA Today reported, her work was sold at Barneys New York, Kaviar and Kind, and Maxfield, at prices from $125 to $11,000.
The leaf stayed in the line. So did nameplate necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings, all in 18-karat gold, and the company later added men's pieces, fragrance, candles, hand cream and hoodies.
Twelve Years With Net-a-Porter
Meyer built the business through department stores and online retailers rather than her own shops. By 2022 she had sold through Net-a-Porter for twelve years, and she listed Neiman Marcus among her long-running partners. Her company site also names Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman and Shopbop. "I would not have my business had I not started with these retailers," she told Glossy.
In 2012 she was a runner-up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the prize that went to Greg Chait that year. Capsule collections followed with Barneys New York, Superga, J.Crew and the outerwear brand Moose Knuckles, whose 2021 collection with her ran to 18 pieces.
A Store at Palisades Village
For thirteen years Meyer had no store of her own. In September 2017 National Jeweler reported that she would open one in 2018 at Palisades Village, a new shopping center in Pacific Palisades, in a space of about 500 square feet. It opened in October 2018.
Production stayed in the city. "A big part of our brand is that we do produce every piece in Los Angeles, not New York, not China, not India," she told the CFDA. In the same interview she said, "Everything I've ever done is in L.A."
Kona in 2007, a Los Angeles Court in 2026
Meyer married the actor Tobey Maguire in September 2007 in Kona, Hawaii. They have two children. The couple announced their separation in October 2016, after nine years of marriage, and she filed for divorce in October 2020.
The divorce took almost six more years. In early October 2026 Australian Associated Press reported that a judgment in Los Angeles Superior Court had ended the marriage, with her status as single dating from September 21. Other issues in the case were left for later.
By then Meyer was engaged to Geoffrey Ogunlesi, a music executive and a son of the investor Adebayo Ogunlesi. The two became engaged in August 2024, and their daughter was born in June 2026, her third child.
One Owner, No Outside Valuation
There is no reliable figure for what Meyer is worth. The company is private, and she says she owns all of it, so no funding round has ever put a price on it. It does not publish revenue. Forbes, Bloomberg and the fashion trade press have not published an estimate of her wealth.
Numbers on celebrity net worth sites, which range from tens of millions of dollars upward, cite no filing and no valuation, and this article does not repeat them. What can be stated is how the company was financed: less than $10,000 of her own money, one $25,000 loan repaid within six months, and no investors since.
Sources
- Jennifer Meyer sparkles | KSL.com
- Jennifer Meyer: 'I would not have my business' without retail partners
- LA Stories: Jennifer Meyer, a true Los Angeles Native
- The Brand
- Jennifer Meyer Is Opening Her First Store | National Jeweler
- Hollywood couple finalise divorce 10 years after split | The Canberra Times
- Jennifer Meyer's lavish wedding to billionaire heir features a surprising role for her ex Tobey Maguire
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