Celebrity News

Esme Young Husband, Height, Illness, Speech Impediment, Married, Net Worth, Wig, Deaf, Weight Loss

Esme Young Biography – Esme Young Wiki

Esme Young is an English fashion designer and judge on BBC One’s The Great British Sewing Bee. She has had a fashion career spanning 50 years.

Esme went to boarding school when she was five. The nuns at the convent school taught them cross-stich, crochet, knitting and embroidery. She was seven when she made her own skirt. After school, she went to do an art foundation course in Cambridge. She then applied to study graphics at what is now Central St Martins.

In 1972, she co-founded the clothing brand Swanky Modes in Camden, north London, with three fellow fashion designers. At Swanky Modes, she was involved in costume design and making pieces for commercials and pop videos. Later, she started working on making garments for films.

Two of their former assistants at Swanky Modes, Rachael Fleming and Steven Noble, became esteemed film costume designers and hired her on many of their projects. She made a cheesecloth shirt for Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach, a ‘fur’ coat for Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin, and for Bridget Jones’s Diary, she made the popular bunny outfit Renée Zellweger wears in the party scene.

In 2000, Esme went back to Central Saint Martins as a senior lecturer on the BA Print course.

Esme Young Sewing Bee

Esme Young rose to national fame in 2016 when she took over as a judge alongside Patrick Grant on the BBC show The Great British Sewing Bee.

On joining The Great British Sewing Bee, Esme told Sheer Luxe: “I met a woman at a party who told me she was a producer on a sewing programme and asked if I might be interested. About three years later, they were looking for a new judge. They auditioned about 17 people, including me, and I was the one who got it – age 67. I’ve never been frightened of cameras and it’s such a positive show to be a part of. [Fellow judge] Patrick Grant and [presenter] Claudia Winkleman have been such wonderful supports, too. My favourite thing about it is how the sewers bond with each other – I really enjoy seeing them all at the Stitch Festival later in the year.

“I don’t find it hugely difficult being a judge on the show – it’s not dissimilar to the appraisal process you do as a teacher, and I can spot when things aren’t quite working. The most important things are the silhouette and the fabric you choose to work with. The correct fabric is what counts – not just quality – because you need it to do what you want it to. I also look at sewing technique. I know first-hand that the only way to learn is often through mistakes.”

Esme Young Age

She was born on 19 February 1949 in Bedford, Bedfordshire.

Esme Young Family

Esme is the daughter of Brian Pashley Young and Patricia Josephine Cole. She is the second of five children. She has an elder sister, Fiona, and younger brothers Christopher, Angus, and Jeremy.

Her father worked for the RAF. “He was born in South Africa and had been expected to go into law. Instead he became an RAF pilot officer, joining 32 Squadron at Biggin Hill. He was on duty when a request came in asking his squadron to send a pilot to join 615 “Churchill’s Own” squadron, supporting the British Expeditionary Force in France. [He] put his own name forward and flew straight into the Battle of France in a Hurricane fighter plane.

“He was shot down over Belgium in May 1940 in a hail of bullets from a Messerschmitt 109. His fuel tank caught fire and he was badly burned. He managed to parachute out and came down behind the British front lines, only to be shot in the arm and leg by his own side. When he landed, the British also threw a grenade at him, injuring his side. Miraculously, he survived.”

Esme Young Husband

Is Esme Young married? She has kept her marital status under wraps. According to reports, Esme doesn’t have a husband and/or partner.

Esme Young Illness

Esme Young is dyslexic. She told SheerLuxe: “I didn’t learn to read until I was seven because I didn’t know how to make the right sounds. It’s still a bit of a problem today because I have to look at everything visually.”

Esme Young Speech Impediment

Sewing Bee’s Esme Young has a speech impediment, a condition that impacts an individual’s ability to speak fluently, correctly, or with clear resonance or tone.

Esme Young Deaf

The Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young was partially deaf as a child. “I was also partially deaf as a child, and no one really understood that that was the problem,” she told SheerLuxe. “My teachers thought I was thick and my father used to describe me as ‘dreamy’ – but, really, I was in my own little world because I couldn’t hear anyone.”

Esme Young Net Worth

Esme Young’s best-paid job is as a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee. She told The Telegraphy: “I’ve earned more money as a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee than from any other job. It has also opened up ­avenues in TV and radio, and brought in invitations to do talks.”

She doesn’t own property. She said: “I’ve never been able to afford my own home. I’ve lived in social housing since 1983 – in a one-bedroom flat in Islington, north London, rented from the charitable housing trust Peabody. It is rent controlled and I have tenure for the rest of my life. I also own a beach hut on the north Kent coast which I bought for £500 many years ago.”

Her biggest financial mistake is not taking the opportunity to buy the three-storey building that housed her workshop in Camden. “In the late 1970s I had the opportunity to buy the three-storey building that housed my workshop in Camden. It went up for sale at auction at £20,000. It must be worth millions now.”

Esme Young Height

Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young stands at a height of 5 feet. Her fellow Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant is 6ft 2in.

Does Esme Young Wear a Wig?

The Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young is known for her trademark grey bob. The designer doesn’t wear a wig.

Esme wore big Afro wigs of silver foil during her partying years in the 70s. She started partying in 1965 and didn’t really slow down until the mid-80s. “Much of the 70s was one big social,” she recalls. “Our party outfits were often more shocking than stylish: we wore make-up, glitter, jewels around our eyes and big Afro wigs of silver foil with eyelashes to match.”

Esme Young Weight Loss

Celebrity seamstress Esme Young hasn’t lost weight.

Instagram

Esme Young’s Instagram handle is @miss_esme_young.