Choo, Jimmy (1961- )

Malaysian-born British high-fashion shoe designer. He is best known for his elegant, handmade, high-heeled women's shoes, popularized by the likes of Diana, Princess of Wales, and actor Sarah Jessica Parker on her hit cable television series Sex and the City. He established his label in 1986, originally designing exclusively made-to-order shoes and producing them in a small workshop in Hackney, London. The first Jimmy Choo Couture shop was opened in Connaught Street in London, England.

While he continued to design specialized shoes for the rich and famous, British Vogue editor Tamara Yeardye Mellon and Sandra Choi, Choo's niece, launched a successful ready-to-wear line in 1996. Choo sold half his interest in the company to Mellon and the other half to a venture-capital firm in 2001. The company opened stand-alone boutiques in the UK and USA, as well as selling through a large number of retailers worldwide. The line has expanded to include men's shoes and handbags.

Choo was born in Penang, Malaysia, into a family of shoemakers. He apprenticed at his father's business and started to design women's shoes before adolescence. He studied footwear design at Cordwainer's Technical College in London, England. He was awarded an OBE in 2003.