Meet Ralph Lauren's Wife Ricky Lauren — His Muse And Partner Of 56 Years
They have three kids together.
Getty Ralph Lauren is known for his classic and impeccable style. He's celebrating 50 years of his iconic brand with a new documentary series on HBO about his life and career called Very Ralph.
In it, viewers get to meet the members of his family, including his wife. Who is Ralph Lauren's wife?
Lauren met his wife when he was just starting out as a designer of neckties. The couple has been together since 1964 and have three children: Andrew, David and Dylan. Andrew, 50, is an actor and film producer. David, 48, is an Executive Vice President at the Ralph Lauren Corporation and married to former President George H. W. Bush's granddaughter, Lauren. Dylan, 45, is the owner of Dylan's Candy Bar. She is married to hedge fund manager Paul Arrouet.
Let's take a look at Ralph Lauren's life and family.
1. Who is Ralph Lauren's wife, Ricky Lauren?
Ricky Ann Low-Beer Lauren was born on June 14, 1943. She grew up the daughter of Austrian immigrants Margaret Vytouch and Rudolph Low-Beer in New York City. She majored in English at Hunter College. She taught fifth grade for a time and was also a dancer in the Bronx.
2. How did Ralph and Ricky meet?
Low-Beer was working part-time as a receptionist in the office of an eye doctor while attending college in 1964. Ralph walked into the office one fateful day for an appointment. He asked her out on the spot.
On their first date, Ralph picked her up in his green sports car and took her to a pancake house in upstate New York. Legend has it that Ralph proposed on their first date. The couple was married about eight months later and have been together for 56 years.
3. She's the "polo persona."
Ricky is the inspiration for her husband's "Polo Persona," the model which the Polo brand's ad campaigns are based on. In his 2007 memoir, Ralph Lauren, Ralph wrote about his wife as his muse and inspiration.
"I didn't like the girl with all the makeup and high heels. I liked the girl in jeans and a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, wearing her boyfriend's jacket. That's the girl I am attracted to. That's the girl I married — Ricky."
Ralph has also mentioned that when he launched his women's line in 1971, he was primarily motivated by Ricky's frustration with finding clothes that fit her slim, petite build.
4. Ricky Lauren a psychotherapist.
Ricky met and married Ralph while she was a college student. Her children were born a few years later in 1969, 1971 and 1974. Once Andrew, David and Dylan were in school, Ricky went back to college to finish her degree. After graduation, she worked as a psychotherapist.
5. She's also an author.
Ricky is an author, artist and photographer who's written a number of lifestyle books and cookbooks. The New York Times reviewed her 2006 book Cuisine, Lifestyle, and Legend of the Double RL Ranch, writing, "Here's a loving — and really beautiful — picture-book tribute (with history and recipes) to the spot near Telluride that spawned an empire built on denim shirts, tooled turquoise-buckle belts, and red and black horse blankets."
She wrote about (and shared photos from) an African Safari she took with friends in 1983 in her book Safari. The proceeds of Safari were donated to the World Wildlife Fund. She also wrote The Hamptons: Food, Family and History and My Island, in which Ricky takes the reader on a photographic journey of her day on a lush tropical island.
6. She's a grandmother.
Ricky has at least four grandchildren. David and his wife, Lauren have two sons James and Max. Dylan and her husband, Paul, have fraternal twins, son Cooper and daughter Kingsley. Ricky's oldest son Andrew does not appear to have any children.
Amy Lamare is a writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.