Paloma Picasso
French jewelry designer and businesswoman, daughter of Pablo Picasso.
Paloma Picasso, born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot in Paris on 19 April 1949, is a French jewelry designer and businesswoman. She is most famous for her long partnership with Tiffany & Co. and for creating her own line of perfumes. The daughter of artists Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot, she appears in many of her father’s paintings, such as *Paloma with an Orange* and *Paloma in Blue*, and also in her mother’s 1965 work *Paloma à la Guitare*, which sold for $1.3 million in 2021. Considered one of the world’s most stylish women, she served as a muse to Yves Saint Laurent and was inducted into *Vanity Fair*’s International Best Dressed Hall of Fame. Her award-winning jewelry designs are held in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.
Growing up in Paris and the South of France, Picasso and her older brother Claude were surrounded by a vibrant artistic and intellectual scene. She enjoyed drawing as a child but later felt the weight of her famous surname. Her father cut ties with her and Claude after their mother’s 1964 memoir, *Life with Picasso*, was published. In 1970, the siblings sued in France to be recognized as legal heirs, and after Picasso’s death in 1973, his widow Jacqueline Roque barred them from his funeral. A French court ruled in their favor in 1974.
After studying at the Université Paris Nanterre, Picasso worked as a costume designer for the Folies Bergère. Rhinestone necklaces she made from flea-market stones caught critics’ attention, leading her to formal jewelry training. She showed her first designs to Yves Saint Laurent, who commissioned accessories for his collections. In 1971, she launched her first costume jewelry line in his Rive Gauche boutiques. Her vintage 1940s style inspired Saint Laurent’s 1971 Scandal collection, and through him she entered Andy Warhol’s social circle. In 1973, she acted in the erotic film *Immoral Tales*, playing Countess Erzsébet Báthory, and earned praise for her beauty. After her father’s death, she paused her design work to help catalog his estate and establish the Musée Picasso in Paris.
She began working for the Greek jewelry company Zolotas in 1979, and the following year started designing for Tiffany & Co. Her style, described by design director John Loring as “aggressively chic and uncompromisingly styli
- born
- 19 April 1949
- field
- Jewelry design, business
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Collaboration with Tiffany & Co, signature perfumes, being a muse to Yves Saint Laurent
Lore & Background
Paloma Picasso was born in Paris to artists Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot on April 19, 1949. Her name, Paloma (Dove), is associated with the symbol her father designed for the World Peace Council's World Congress of Partisans for Peace, held in Paris at the time of her birth. She spent her childhood in Paris and the South of France, immersed in vibrant culture. After attending the Université Paris Nanterre, she worked as a costume designer for the Folies Bergère in Paris. Rhinestone necklaces she created from flea market stones drew critical attention, leading her to pursue formal schooling in jewelry design. In 1971, she launched her first collection of costume jewelry in Yves Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche boutiques. She also portrayed Countess Erzsébet Báthory in the film Immoral Tales (1973). After her father's death in 1973, she helped catalogue his estate and establish the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 1980 she began designing for Tiffany & Co, and in 1984 she created the 'Paloma' perfume for L'Oréal.
Reader's Guide
Paloma Picasso's significance lies in her independent career as a jewelry designer and businesswoman, distinct from her famous father's legacy. Her work for Tiffany & Co, characterized by 'aggressively chic and uncompromisingly stylised' designs featuring X's, scribbles, and zigzags in gold with colored gemstones, established her as a major figure in luxury jewelry. Her signature perfumes and cosmetics line further broadened her influence. Her designs are held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. She was inducted into Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in 1983 and received awards from the Fashion Group International and Hispanic Designers Inc. Her legacy includes a 2011 exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, underscoring her role as a female designer who built a lasting brand.
Did You Know?
- Paloma Picasso designed a 396.30-carat kunzite necklace housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
- She portrayed Countess Erzsébet Báthory in the 1973 film Immoral Tales.
- Her red lipstick was described as her 'calling cards'; she said, 'Red lips have become my signature, so when I don’t want to be recognized, I don’t wear it.'
- She married Argentine playwright Rafael Lopez-Cambil in a black-and-white themed wedding in 1978.
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