In a cream cocktail dress, topped with a navy netted hat and coordinated blazer, Lady Kitty Spencer cuts the figure of a quintessential Sloane blonde at a country gathering.
The image, however, dates back to 2011, when the late Princess Diana’s niece was only 20. Shy and appearing slightly uncertain, she seemed far removed from the polished, globe-trotting socialite she would later become.
Fifteen years on, the change is remarkable. Now married to 67-year-old South African billionaire Michael Lewis—32 years her senior—the eldest daughter of Earl Spencer has built a lifestyle far removed from the traditional aristocratic setting of her childhood.
Early steps: Lady Kitty Spencer is pictured in 2011, before her rapid ascent in the fashion world
At 35, Lady Kitty is also a mother to three-year-old Athena. Her diary is packed with international fashion shows, high-profile parties and lavish getaways in the Hamptons, making her a familiar presence on the global luxury circuit.
Privilege was part of her story from the beginning. The Spencers rank among Britain’s best-known aristocratic families, yet Kitty and her siblings—twin sisters Eliza and Amelia, and brother Louis—spent much of their early life in Cape Town. The family settled in the affluent suburb of Constantia in an effort to avoid intense media attention.
After their parents separated, the children shared their time between their mother Victoria Aitken’s gated Cape Town property and the historic splendour of their father’s ancestral home, Althorp. Their aunt, Princess Diana, had also grown up there.
That unusual childhood, split between the British aristocracy and a very different South African environment, may have contributed to the international perspective Lady Kitty has embraced as an adult.
She has done more than move from English country-house circles into the international jet set. Lady Kitty has transformed her aristocratic background into a successful fashion career, developing a persona that feels equally at ease among the global elite and in front of a catwalk audience.
Fashionista: Lady Kitty attended the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 show during Paris Fashion Week
Before beginning university in Cape Town in 2009, she received one of high society’s most coveted introductions when she was presented at Paris’s Le Bal des Débutantes. That year, she also appeared on the cover of Tatler, the influential magazine associated with Britain’s upper classes.
An interview the following year offered a more informal portrait of the young aristocrat. Lady Kitty said she disliked exercise and admitted to enjoying indulgent favourites including macaroni cheese, chips and flapjacks.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, she was also open about her mother’s eating disorder and her aunt Diana’s widely reported struggle with bulimia. Those experiences, she explained, had made her particularly conscious of mindfulness and wellbeing.
For someone raised in such privileged surroundings, she came across as notably relatable: frank, thoughtful and refreshingly relaxed in a world often shaped by image and expectation.
Those early remarks also hinted at the direction her life might take. Behind the polished appearance was someone seemingly determined to make her own choices rather than simply conform to the traditions of the society into which she had been born.
Stylish: Lady Kitty appears entirely at ease in the fashion industry and is a regular at major fashion events
Her wardrobe has changed just as dramatically. The restrained country-house look of tailored blazers and practical hats has given way to a far more theatrical, high-glamour style.
Following her signing with Storm Model Management in 2017, Lady Kitty made her mark as a model for Dolce & Gabbana. She embraced sweeping gowns, bold jewellery and attention-grabbing ensembles crafted to make an impact.
As an ambassador for the Italian label, known for its unapologetically glamorous European aesthetic, she has adopted a style with clear echoes of the so-called mob-wife trend: opulent, dramatic and intentionally impossible to overlook.
In more recent years, she has also appeared increasingly toned and athletic at fashion events. Lady Kitty has said in interviews that she enjoys spin and barre classes, while her sculpted arms and defined physique have become part of her carefully polished public image.
It is a look that sits comfortably within the world of international fashion, where immaculate grooming, carefully considered styling and a camera-ready appearance are a passport to entry.
Pretty in pink: The aristocrat wowed the crowds at the British Museum Ball in 2025
Little is known about her marriage to Lewis, chairman of retail giant The Foschini Group, which owns fashion brands including Whistles and Jigsaw. The couple appear to enjoy a glittering lifestyle, with sun-drenched holidays on the Riviera and in New York’s Hamptons, offering occasional glimpses of their private world without revealing too much.
Their wedding in 2021 was an extravagant affair at Villa Aldobrandini, a 16th-century villa overlooking Rome. Lady Kitty looked spectacular in a custom-made lace gown by Dolce & Gabbana, complete with a high neckline and fitted, corseted bodice that showcased her figure.
Photographs of the newlyweds captured the occasion’s romance, but the wedding also seemed to mark another milestone in her transformation: from aristocratic blonde on the fringes of high society to a woman whose life now revolves around fashion, global travel and extraordinary wealth.
Her social circle has evolved, too. Rather than confining herself to the titled country set, Lady Kitty has cultivated an eclectic network of friends drawn from fashion, entertainment and high society.
She is close to Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, 40, Britain’s first Black marchioness, who is married to the Marquess of Bath, and the pair are regularly seen together at fashionable events. Her circle also includes pop star Pixie Lott, 35, and her husband Oliver Cheshire, actor Idris Elba, 54, and his wife Sabrina, and fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper, 39.
Red-hot: Lady Kitty looked stunning in a caped dress at the The British Museum Ball in 2026
It is a decidedly modern mix of companions, many of whom have established their own careers and public profiles rather than relying on inherited titles. Their world offers a sharp contrast to the more traditional aristocratic circles in which Kitty grew up and suggests she has little interest in allowing her pedigree to dictate the company she keeps.
As Earl Spencer’s eldest child, Kitty might once have been expected to play a more conventional role in the family dynasty. But under current rules her younger brother Louis is in line to inherit Althorp and is now pursuing a career as an actor.
Kitty, meanwhile, appears to have built a life entirely on her own terms. With a home in Marylebone, a wealthy husband, a young daughter, a modelling career and a glittering international social network, she has little need to rely on the allure of an ancestral estate or the promise of a title.
The young woman in the cream dress and navy hat has since reinvented herself as a confident fashion fixture whose world extends far beyond the English country house.
Lady Kitty Spencer may have been born into one of Britain’s grandest aristocratic families, but her transformation suggests that the most valuable inheritance of all is the freedom to create a life of her own.
And if that life happens to involve designer gowns, billionaire wealth and holidays in the Hamptons, then so far, so good.
