Photo: Getty
She is the only child of Kate and Andy Spade.
By Molly Given — Written on Jun 05, 2018
Early Tuesday morning internationally known designer Kate Spade was found hanging at her 850 Park Avenue home by her housekeeper. She hung herself with a red scarf from a doorknob earlier in the morning. When police arrived she was announced dead at the scene at 10:26 am. There are reports that she left a note as well.
The tragic loss of the beloved designer has shocked many people who have expressed condolences on social media. The fashion icon will be remembered and our thoughts are with her daughter, husband and family. She leaves behind husband, Andy Spade and daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade.
Here is what else we know about Kate Spade's daughter.
1. Frances is 13 years old.
Andy and Kate Spade's only child, Frances Beatrix Spade, was born in February 2005. Her nickname is Bea.
2. Kate took a hiatus to spend time with her daughter.
The fashion maven took “a near-decade long hiatus to raise her daughter” before staging her comeback with the Frances Valentine brand. She said in an interview she wouldn’t trade the time with her daughter in a “million years.”
3. She eventually went back to business when Frances was old enough.
"I took off a good nine years raising my daughter and absolutely adored every moment of it," Kate said. "But then I realized she was becoming 12 and really didn't want me around so much, so I thought I'd get back into the business."
4. One of Spade's collections was named after her.
Kate launched her new line Frances Valentine after her daughter. Frances, then 12, would sometimes ask, “Why there are shoes with her mom’s name in them?"
5. Frances is a family name.
"Frances is a longtime family name on my dad’s side. My grandfather, father, brother and my daughter’s name is Frances. And then Valentine was my mom’s dad’s middle name because he was born on Valentine’s Day,” Kate said in an interview in 2005.
6. Her husband talks about how Frances looked up to her mom.
“It's a good example for my daughter to see her mother work. Not that she didn’t before, but to see her work [as a designer].”
7. She wasn't present when her mother was found dead.
Although Kate's longtime husband Andy was there when she was found, Frances was not on the scene, according to police.
Molly Given is a writer living in Philadelphia and lover of all things to do with mystery and magic in life. When she’s not writing her fingers off she can be found planning her next adventure in a new part of the world.