Karren Brady is known as the ‘the first lady of football’ who famously bought and sold her own footballer husband twice to turn a profit.
On Tuesday the Apprentice star, 57, stepped down as West Ham United’s vice-chairman and ended, for now at least, almost 35 years in the beautiful game.
She has shocked the sport after announcing her departure from the club just as the Hammers fight it out with rivals Spurs to avoid Premier League relegation.
Baroness Brady was hailed as a ‘standard-bearer for women in a male-dominated world’ having famously been warned at the start of her career she ‘would have to be twice as good as the men’ and replied: ‘Well that won’t be difficult’.
But in a sign her journey in the sport may not be over, she said: ‘My passion for football remains undiminished.’
The millionaire businesswoman and mother-of-two, who also has two young grandchildren, became the managing director of Birmingham City Football Club at the age of just 23.
She had been an advertising trainee who snubbed university for a career in business who found her feet in football and built a fortune of around £100million.
David Sullivan had been so impressed by Baroness Brady during negotiations for a £2 million advertising deal that he hired her to work at the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport.
Karren Brady, pictured on The Apprentice, has stepped down as West Ham United’s vice-chairman
Baroness Karren Brady (pictured in 1996) became the managing director of Birmingham Football Club at the age of just 23 and was dubbed the ‘first lady of football’ and a trailblazer for women in the game
On-screen: Karren is well-known for her role as a steely sidekick to Sir Alan Sugar on BBC’s The Apprentice
The Brady family when Karren collected her CBE at Buckingham Palace in 2014. Husband Paul and children Sophia and Paolo
Karren Brady and her daughter Sophia, an influencer and model
She then encouraged Sullivan to buy Birmingham City from administrators in 1993.
Perhaps best known to the public for her role as an adviser to Lord Sugar on the BBC show ‘The Apprentice’, away from an extraordinary commercial career, she was also branded the ballsiest Baroness in the House of Lords since her hero Lady Thatcher.
But her business life began as a teenager, sweeping the floors of an Edmonton hair salon after getting turned down by Waitrose to stack shelves because she was ‘too glamorous’.
‘I have never had a bad job – every one leads to a better job’, she said.
‘I got turned down from a job at Waitrose. I was wearing a pair of high-heeled white cowboy boots and they said I was “too glamorous”.
‘So I got a Saturday job sweeping up in a hair salon. By the end of the first day I had changed the rotas and was running the tills.’
Her departure comes with West Ham two points and one place above the Premier League relegation zone with five matches to play.
Baroness Brady grew up in north London, the daughter of Irish-Italian parents, father Terry, a self-made millionaire and housewife mother Rita.
Describing her younger years, Baroness Brady said: ‘I was defiant [as a child]. My mother said I was fearless. But I take the approach: “What is the worst that can happen?”
‘I think you regret the things you don’t do much more than the things you do.
‘I went to a boarding school run by nuns. It was Dickensian – a very unhappy place. When I left at 18, independence was the thing I craved more than anything. So I decided against going to university and went straight to work at Saatchi & Saatchi.’
Her devil-may-care attitude began at a much younger age – accidentally getting drunk aged three.
‘We lived in Edmonton, London, and my parents had an elegant drinks cabinet. Inside were all these tiny crystal glasses and different-coloured bottles full of crème de menthe, Advocaat and vodka.
‘I was three when my mum and nan left me at home for the day with my grandfather. I filled up the glasses with the liquid in the bottles and took sips while getting my dolls to do the same. I was having a wonderful time – until my grandfather came in and asked what I was doing.
‘When my mum and nan came back, they were furious and he got a real earful. I must have been drunk but I wasn’t sick. I was put to bed after that’.
1973: Karren with her brother Darren and grandmother Nina
She married her husband Paul Peschisolido, Birmingham’s star striker, in 1995 and would later sell him for a profit
1996: Karren and Paul with their daughter Sophia. She took six weeks maternity leave and said it was the greatest regret of her life
Karren pictured in 2008 – she admitted she had been trolled for many years with sexist abuse and rude messages about her weight
In 2014 she became Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge
Baroness Karren Brady with her husband Paul and their grandchildren Leo and George earlier this month
Baroness Brady married Paul Peschisolido – who played for Birmingham City from 1992 to 1994, when she was managing director of the club in 1996.
Describing how they met she said: ‘He was our star player. I visited him in hospital when he was injured and ended up staying for five hours.
‘We got engaged quickly, were married and had our first child a year later. I hadn’t thought much about marriage until I met him, but it’s one of those things – when you’re not looking, it creeps up on you.’
In her 16-year stewardship of Birmingham City, she took it from the brink of bankruptcy to a club worth £82million.
During her time at the club, Karen also had to face misogyny from some of the footballers.
She told The Guardian that a Birmingham player once quipped: ‘I can see your tits in that shirt.’ She replied: “When I sell you to Crewe, you won’t be able to see them from there will you?” She sold him.
The club is now owned by another Brady, NFL legend Tom.
Paul and Karren have a daughter Sophia, 28, and a 26-year-old son, Paolo.
Baroness Brady managed to juggle life in business with family.
She said in 2014: ‘From Friday to Sunday I’m with my family.
‘People can come and visit, but I don’t go out unless it’s to watch my son play rugby, or my own team. I will cook the dinner – Sunday roast is my speciality.’
Baroness Brady famously only took six weeks maternity leave after giving birth to her youngest child, and says it is her greatest regret.
‘I would re-take my maternity leave. In May 1996, when I had my daughter Sophia, the concept of work/life balance did not exist. I had her on the Friday and I was back at work on the Monday. I regret missing those precious months.’
Ms Brady went on to say that she did some things wrong but she always did her best for her children.
She added: ‘I love my children, I love my work, I’ve tried to make it work. I haven’t always got it right but I’ve done my very best and actually that’s all you can do as a working mum.’
One of her many missions in life is to encourage working mothers and wives not to feel guilty about bringing up a family.
‘Look, you can’t do it all,’ she said previously.
‘There will be key times when your family must come before anything, but there are also times when work must take centre stage. You just have to pick your moments and not beat yourself up.
‘I want women to know they should never feel guilty about championing their own career and should never, ever be afraid to be ambitious. I feel a personal responsibility to change things because I have a teenage daughter, Sophia, who will soon be making her own way in the world.’
Karren with her mother Rita
Karren’s father Terry (pictured with Rita) was a self-made millionaire in printing and property
Baroness Brady took up her role with West Ham in east London after David Gold and David Sullivan bought the club.
She previously worked as managing director at Birmingham after Sullivan purchased it.
During Brady’s tenure the club completed their move from Upton Park to the London Stadium, which was built as the flagship venue for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Brady, despite commercial progress, became a polarising figure among West Ham supporters, with criticism of the transition from Upton Park, increased ticket prices and problems on the pitch.
She said today: ‘While this chapter closes, my passion for football and commitment to supporting the next generation of leaders remains undiminished. I wish West Ham United every success for the future and look forward to following their continued achievements with pride.’
Sullivan, the club’s chair, described Brady as an ‘exceptional leader’ and added: ‘We wish her every success in her future endeavours and thank her for her outstanding contribution over the past 16 years.’
She first appeared on The Apprentice as a guest interviewer in June 2008 for the infamous grilling episode in the fourth series of the show.
In August 2009, she was hired as one of Alan’s aides, the role formerly held by Margaret Mountford.
She has been an aide to Lord Sugar for 15 series.
Karren was appointed vice-chair of West Ham United in January 2010
Despite leaving the Hammers, she will remain on screen with the Apprentice, it is understood
In December 2013, she was awarded a CBE for her contribution to women in business.
Becoming a Tory peer the following year, she says, led to the best night of her life.
‘After I had been appointed a peer to the House of Lords I had a big party at my house. I invited Alan Sugar, Philip Green and Simon Cowell and all the people I worked with. It was wonderful’, she said.
Describing how it happened she revealed how she received the phone call asking her if she was willing to have her name put forward for a peerage from David Cameron himself.
‘I said it would be an honour and a privilege,’ she said.
‘He said he hoped my experience in running a real business and being passionate about small business as well as my campaigning for equality would add real value to the House and I could continue to champion both.’
She added previously: ‘I attend the House of Lords to vote, but can’t be there full-time because of my work.
‘I hope to take a more permanent place in future. Anything in politics to do with small businesses, women in business and sport interests me. Sport is so important in the lives of young people’.
Baroness Brady also had a high-profile role within the fashion industry.
In 2017, she was made non-executive chairman of Taveta, the holding company for Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, before resigning in 2019.
Away from football and family, her favourite thing is reading newspapers and doing sudoku, calling herself a ‘world champion’ at the maths game.
A columnist for The Sun, she also previously worked at the Daily Sport. Baroness Brady had considered journalism as a career before going into advertising.
Baroness Brady came close to death in 2006 when an aneurysm was discovered in her brain.
She was treated with invasive neurosurgery but remains at a high risk of having a stroke later on in her life.
Since then she has supported the Stroke Association, chairing its awards for people who rebuilt their lives after suffering from a stroke.
Describing herself as fearless, she said: ‘I am a confronter. I like to get to the bottom of issues. It was the same when I had an aneurysm in 2006.
‘I woke up one morning and had blotches all over my skin and my body was visibly swelling. I was rushed to A&E and they thought it was just an allergic reaction. Then I had an MRI scan and was rushed into surgery.
‘I was told I’d need to take three months off work but I only took six weeks. I feel so lucky I survived’.
