Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author Jamie Kern Lima received Washington State University’s most prestigious honor, the Regents’ Distinguished Alumni Award, last September.
Lima (’00 Busi.) has had standout success in multiple careers since earning her degree from the Carson College of Business. She was a TV news anchor; founded a cosmetics company that she sold to L’Oréal for $1.2 billion; became the first female CEO of a L’Oréal brand; and is now a best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host.
“Jamie’s determination, resilience, and authenticity epitomize the values Cougs live by,” said WSU President Kirk Schulz when announcing the award for Lima.
She was recognized during the Boeing Apple Cup football game at Lumen Field in Seattle on September 14, where she received a medallion designed and fabricated by mechanical engineering student Carlos Venegas.
Lima grew up in western Washington and was the first in her family to graduate from college. She worked her way through school with jobs as a waitress and a grocery store cashier.
Toward the end of her WSU experience she became a celebrity, winning the “Baywatch College Search” and appearing on an episode of the show, being named Miss Washington USA in 1999, and appearing on the first season of the reality TV series Big Brother.
She earned an MBA from Columbia University, then returned to the Pacific Northwest to work as a TV news reporter and anchor. When she began struggling with rosacea, she searched in vain for cosmetics that would conceal the redness on her face. Ultimately, she started testing and developing her own beauty products, working with dermatologists and plastic surgeons to create formulas that worked.
Lima and her husband, Paulo, founded IT Cosmetics in 2008 to bring confidence-boosting products to market for those dealing with skin conditions like hers. Sales took off after Lima demonstrated them on herself on the QVC home shopping channel. The products sold out during that 10-minute segment and ultimately IT Cosmetics became QVC’s largest beauty brand.
L’Oréal, a multinational cosmetics company, bought IT Cosmetics in 2016. Lima left in 2019 to focus on writing, speaking, and philanthropy.
In 2021, she published Believe It: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable. A second book, Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life, came out in February 2024. Both titles landed on the New York Times bestseller list. She donated the proceeds from her first book to nonprofits and has funded leadership training in more than 100 prisons and women’s shelters across the country.
Lima’s messages on the importance of inclusivity and belief in self-worth have resonated with audiences online, on TV, and on podcasts.
Says Schulz, “Her success and her generosity are an inspiration to Cougs everywhere.”
Adapted from “Entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima to be honored with WSU Regents award,” WSU Insider