Debbie Moore
Encyclopedia
Debbie Moore OBE
(born Dorothy Moore, 31 May 1946), is an English model and business woman who is most noted as the founder of Pineapple Dance Studios
and its associated clothing brand. She was the first woman to float a company on the London Stock Exchange
and in 1984 was an early winner of the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of The Year Award.
, near Manchester
, the daughter of Hazel, a clerk, and Ron Moore, a plumber. She has one brother. She attended the Stretford Grammar School in Granby Road, Stretford, Manchester.
Aged 14 she suffered from whooping cough, which kept her out of school for several months, and after her recovery she joined a local commercial college. She returned to commercial college to complete her studies after winning the competition. In the opening line of her book, When a Woman Means Business, she wrote, “I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked how someone like me who left school at fifteen without an O’ level to my name, and no business background, could start up and develop a successful business.”
After the end of her first marriage in 1968, she moved to London to work with agencies Laraine Ashton, and JCJ for TV commercials. Notable campaigns included Revlon, and a billboard in Times Square
in New York plus Silvikrin shampoo, Rolo
, Timex, and The Guardian
. She was a favourite model of the photographer John Swannell
, who featured her in a series of images with the American model Lindy Christensen, photographed in 1978.
Moore married accountant Norris Masters (d. 1988) in June 1976, and they had a daughter, Lara, but she suffered two spinal haemorrhages during her teenage years which left her paralysed. Lara is a champion for disabled rights in the U.K. and a writer for Marie Claire
and Disability now
magazine. She has a successful career as a television presenter.
. In 1981 she opened a second Pineapple Dance Studio called Pineapple West in Paddington Street, London, near Baker Street
.
From the dance studios she developed a line of dance wear using the then non-commercial Lycra fabric. She developed a reputation for colourful designs with a body-conscious aesthetic which was favoured by pop stars and actresses in the 1980s.
With the success of the developing Pineapple brand, she took the company public on the London Stock Exchange on 5 November 1982. She wrote in When a Woman Means Business, "I think it is astounding that I was the first woman to take a company public. The fact that it took until 1982 and that it took an ex-model is bizarre."
Following a rights issue in 1983, when Pineapple shares increased to £3.6m, she opened Pineapple Dance Studios on Broadway in New York and another London studio in South Kensington
In 1983 she published The Pineapple Dance Book, an insider's guide to the world of fitness and dance including an exercise guide and diet tips. The following year, she received the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award, along with the Variety Club of Great Britain Woman of the Year Award, presented by the Duke of Edinburgh. Three years later, she opened a Pineapple flagship store in London’s King’s Road, and opened a total of twelve stores in succeeding years in shopping centres across the U.K. including Trafford Centre
in her native Manchester, Bluewater in Kent, and Churchill Square in Brighton.
In 1988 Pineapple PLC was re-privatised by Debbie Moore in a management buy-out. In 1989 she published ‘'When a Woman Means Business'’, a book offering business and lifestyle advice based on her own experiences and those of other pioneering female entrepreneurs. Ten years later, When A Woman Means Business was reprinted in Chinese as an inspiration to Chinese business women. In the same year, she and Pineapple were nominated for Contemporary Designer Of The Year at the British Fashion Awards. In 2000 she signed a licensing deal with the department store Debenhams
to sell Pineapple branded products in its stores.
In 2010 Sky One
aired the documentary series Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series)
, which was filmed at the studios and followed the lives of staff and students at the London studios of the same name. The documentary featured events celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Pineapple Dance Studios, as well as personal insights into the life of Debbie Moore.
Moore was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born Dorothy Moore, 31 May 1946), is an English model and business woman who is most noted as the founder of Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios is a dance studio complex based in the Covent Garden area of central London, England. It was founded by the English model and businesswoman Debbie Moore in 1979. The studio is used for castings and rehearsals by dance companies, record labels, television networks, film...
and its associated clothing brand. She was the first woman to float a company on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and in 1984 was an early winner of the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of The Year Award.
Early life
Debbie Moore was born and raised in UrmstonUrmston
Urmston is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 41,000. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is marked by the River Mersey and the...
, near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, the daughter of Hazel, a clerk, and Ron Moore, a plumber. She has one brother. She attended the Stretford Grammar School in Granby Road, Stretford, Manchester.
Aged 14 she suffered from whooping cough, which kept her out of school for several months, and after her recovery she joined a local commercial college. She returned to commercial college to complete her studies after winning the competition. In the opening line of her book, When a Woman Means Business, she wrote, “I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked how someone like me who left school at fifteen without an O’ level to my name, and no business background, could start up and develop a successful business.”
Modelling career
At age 15 she won a competition in Honey magazine’s search for a model. The competition entry was made on her behalf by her college friends. The first prize was a modelling course at the Sheelah Wilson Model Agency, a cover shoot with Honey, and a visit to the U.S.A. which was organised by the magazine. She also did early shoots with British Vogue magazine. The award was presented by Jane Reed of Honey, who later became Managing Editor of Today in the U.K.After the end of her first marriage in 1968, she moved to London to work with agencies Laraine Ashton, and JCJ for TV commercials. Notable campaigns included Revlon, and a billboard in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in New York plus Silvikrin shampoo, Rolo
Rolo
Rolo is a brand of truncated-cone-shaped or frustum-shaped chocolates with a caramel centre, the shape resembling that of a shallow inverted bucket or tub or a traditional lampshade. They are made by Nestlé, except in the United States where production has been under licence by The Hershey Company...
, Timex, and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. She was a favourite model of the photographer John Swannell
John Swannell
John Swannell, born 1946, is an English photographer.After leaving school at 16, he worked first as an assistant at Vogue Studios and then assisted David Bailey for four years before setting up his own studio....
, who featured her in a series of images with the American model Lindy Christensen, photographed in 1978.
Personal life
She married the photographer David Grant in March 1966 but they divorced two years later in March 1968. The couple was a fixture on the northern social scene, and they were the focus of a Granada TV documentary, Model Couple, which documented their creative life and included footage of Debbie and David at their respective work.Moore married accountant Norris Masters (d. 1988) in June 1976, and they had a daughter, Lara, but she suffered two spinal haemorrhages during her teenage years which left her paralysed. Lara is a champion for disabled rights in the U.K. and a writer for Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
and Disability now
Disability Now
Disability Now is a UK magazine for disabled people, published by UK disability charity Scope.It was first published in 1984 as a newspaper and continued in that form until 2008, when it was redesigned as an A4 magazine with a greater emphasis on lifestyle and features...
magazine. She has a successful career as a television presenter.
Life after modelling
Moore started dancing in the Covent Garden Dance Centre in Floral Street on the advice of her doctor after a sudden weight gain later diagnosed due to an under active thyroid complaint. After the sudden closure of the dance centre, she petitioned students and teachers to support her idea of starting another dance centre nearby in an old pineapple warehouse in the then-undeveloped market area of Covent Garden, close to the Royal Opera HouseRoyal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. In 1981 she opened a second Pineapple Dance Studio called Pineapple West in Paddington Street, London, near Baker Street
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...
.
From the dance studios she developed a line of dance wear using the then non-commercial Lycra fabric. She developed a reputation for colourful designs with a body-conscious aesthetic which was favoured by pop stars and actresses in the 1980s.
With the success of the developing Pineapple brand, she took the company public on the London Stock Exchange on 5 November 1982. She wrote in When a Woman Means Business, "I think it is astounding that I was the first woman to take a company public. The fact that it took until 1982 and that it took an ex-model is bizarre."
Following a rights issue in 1983, when Pineapple shares increased to £3.6m, she opened Pineapple Dance Studios on Broadway in New York and another London studio in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
In 1983 she published The Pineapple Dance Book, an insider's guide to the world of fitness and dance including an exercise guide and diet tips. The following year, she received the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award, along with the Variety Club of Great Britain Woman of the Year Award, presented by the Duke of Edinburgh. Three years later, she opened a Pineapple flagship store in London’s King’s Road, and opened a total of twelve stores in succeeding years in shopping centres across the U.K. including Trafford Centre
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...
in her native Manchester, Bluewater in Kent, and Churchill Square in Brighton.
In 1988 Pineapple PLC was re-privatised by Debbie Moore in a management buy-out. In 1989 she published ‘'When a Woman Means Business'’, a book offering business and lifestyle advice based on her own experiences and those of other pioneering female entrepreneurs. Ten years later, When A Woman Means Business was reprinted in Chinese as an inspiration to Chinese business women. In the same year, she and Pineapple were nominated for Contemporary Designer Of The Year at the British Fashion Awards. In 2000 she signed a licensing deal with the department store Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
to sell Pineapple branded products in its stores.
In 2010 Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
aired the documentary series Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series)
Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series)
Pineapple Dance Studios is a docusoap which aired on Sky1 during 2010. The show gave viewers an insight into the world of Pineapple Dance Studios, a London dance complex, and introduced several employees including Louie Spence and Andrew Stone. The show was first broadcast on 14 February 2010 on...
, which was filmed at the studios and followed the lives of staff and students at the London studios of the same name. The documentary featured events celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Pineapple Dance Studios, as well as personal insights into the life of Debbie Moore.
Moore was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.