Dorrit Moussaieff, is the Israeli-born British First Lady of Iceland, a jewellery designer, editor, businesswoman, and socialite.
Dorrit Moussaieff was born on 12 January 1950 in Jerusalem. Her parents, Alisa and Shlomo Moussaieff, have been active in the jewellery trade for decades, and her father is one of the world’s leading collectors of antiquities dating from the time of the Old Testament.
Dorrit moved to London in her teens. Dyslexia made it difficult for her to attend ordinary school, and she was educated by private tutors. In addition to English and Hebrew, she also speaks German, French, and Icelandic.
Show Full
The Moussaieff family is part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Moussaieff became interested in jewellery at a very early age. As a child, she spent a lot of time in her family's jewellery store and developed a love for designing. She has become a very successful jewellery designer and it has made her wealthy.
Moussaieff has been active in British and American cultural life. She is a contributing editor to British society magazine Tatler.
She participates in other business transactions as well, including funding construction of an office building at Canary Wharf, London and a tourism project in Turkish Cyprus.
Moussaieff married Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland, on his 60th birthday in 2003 and became the First Lady of Iceland. She has helped present Icelandic culture abroad, helping to publicize Icelandic artists and with Ólafur, identifying foreign markets for Icelandic products. She has also worked to help disabled children.
Moussaieff was in third place on the Harper's Magazine List of the Most Connected People in Britain. A local magazine in Reykjavik chose her as one of the best-dressed women in Iceland. Moussaieff was also named Woman of 2006 by the popular Icelandic glossy magazine Nýtt Líf.
