Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Rueben Lifshitz in New York City and grew up in the Bronx in a Jewish family whose roots were in Pinsk, Belarus. His father, Frank Lifshitz, worked as a house painter and was also an artist, actor, and writer in Yiddish theater. His mother, Frieda, maintained the family’s religious traditions and hoped that he would become a rabbi.

Lauren developed a strong interest in clothing as a teenager. He earned money through after-school work and used it to buy stylish suits, drawing inspiration from figures such as Fred Astaire and Cary Grant. At 16, he and his brother Jerry changed the family surname to Lauren after repeated teasing about the name Lifshitz. Lauren graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957, studied business at Baruch College for two years, and served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964.

Lauren began his fashion career in sales at Brooks Brothers before working for the tie manufacturer Beau Brummell. In 1967, Beau Brummell agreed to produce his designs for wide, colorful men’s ties, which Lauren marketed under the name Polo. The following year he introduced a full menswear collection, featuring wide-collared shirts, wide-lapelled suits, and a classic style that was more vivid than traditional preppy clothing.

He introduced a tailored women’s shirt in 1971 and opened his first freestanding store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills that year. In 1972, he launched the short-sleeved cotton mesh Polo shirt in a range of colors, featuring the polo-player emblem that became the brand’s signature. Lauren expanded the label into fragrances, children’s clothing, luggage, eyewear, handbags, home furnishings, denim, athletic wear, and luxury lines including Purple Label and Double RL.

The company opened its first international store in London in 1981 and went public in 1997. It entered hospitality with the RL restaurant in Chicago in 1999, followed by establishments in Paris and New York. Lauren also designed clothing for the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Olympic team. He stepped down as chief executive officer in 2015, while remaining executive chairman and chief creative officer.

Lauren’s clothing gained broad cultural visibility through film. He designed the wardrobe for Robert Redford in the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, creating costumes that matched the movie’s depiction of an elegant 1920s world. The association helped establish his classic and sometimes nostalgic design image with a national audience.

He later supplied clothing worn by Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977), a film whose menswear-inspired styling became closely associated with Keaton’s character. Lauren also received credit for helping outfit the cast of The Wild Party (1975). His connection to film extended decades later when he developed a collection inspired by the television series Downton Abbey and sponsored its final season in 2016.

Lauren received his first Coty Award for menswear in 1970 and went on to receive major honors from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, including its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991, Womenswear Designer of the Year in 1995, Menswear Designer of the Year in 1996, and its Fashion Legend Award in 2007. He was awarded France’s Legion of Honour in 2010 and the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in 2014.

In 2019, Lauren became the first American fashion designer to receive the honorary title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In January 2025, President Joe Biden presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, making Lauren the first fashion designer to receive the honor.

Cancer research and care have been central to Lauren’s philanthropy. In 1989, he co-founded the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown University Hospital in memory of journalist Nina Hyde. He helped launch Fashion Targets Breast Cancer in 1994, established the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation in 2001, and supported cancer centers in Harlem, London, and Washington, D.C. His charitable work has also included cultural preservation, literacy, community programs, and support for the restoration of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Lauren married Ricky Ann Loew-Beer in New York City on December 20, 1964. They have three children: Andrew, David, and Dylan Lauren. David Lauren married Lauren Bush in 2011, while Andrew became a film producer and Dylan founded Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Lauren underwent surgery in 1987 to remove a benign brain tumor and made a full recovery. He is also known for collecting rare and historic automobiles. His collection was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2005 and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2011. Two cars from the collection won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic in 1990 and a 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK Count Trossi in 1993.