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Judith Alexis Stecher-Williams is an American born in Munich in 1971: Her parents came to Germany for her father Daniel Lewis Williams’ musical career. He was an internationally known opera singer – and so Judith Williams was already on stage and singing at the age of four.
Judith Williams, the singer
After graduating from high school, she began studying classical singing at the Cologne University of Music in 1990; she also studied ballet at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the age of 23 she got her first major stage role as Papagena in “The Magic Flute”, other famous roles such as Maria from “West Side Story” quickly followed, which she was allowed to portray internationally.
As she explains in a video on her website, her career went uphill – and ended abruptly with the diagnosis of a benign tumor. Doctors apparently gave Williams a choice between hormone therapy and surgery, which would have affected her fertility. Williams chose children and hormone treatment, but it changed her voice greatly. The career as a singer was over.
Williams discovered her sales talent in a gym
Williams explains on her website that an extremely difficult time has now begun in which she has learned: “If you’re on the ground, you have to get up yourself”. Williams took her first steps after treatment as a receptionist at a gym. There she sold, among other things, drinks and bars for the athletes, which is where she discovered her sales talent.
She tried her luck with an application to the teleshopping channel QVC in Düsseldorf, where she worked until moving to the Munich television channel HSE24 in 2001. In Munich, she got her own jewelry format shortly afterwards.
The start as an entrepreneur: Judith Williams Cosmetics is born
In 2006, the now 35-year-old gave birth to her first daughter, and the following year – as Williams explains on her website – her “second baby”, her cosmetics company, was born. The second daughter was born in 2009, and Williams also began internationalizing her company that year with a show at QVC London. Just a few years after the company was founded, “Judith Williams GmbH” with its brand “Judith Williams Cosmetics” became one of the largest European brands on retail television. The expansion continued: Today, Williams is not only successful in Europe, but also in Russia and Australia.
After she was allowed to offer her own products on commercial television for the first time, Williams founded the “Judith Williams Marken Welt”, which not only carries cosmetics but also fashion, jewelry and other products.
“The Lion’s Den” and the “Glow Beauty Convention”
In 2010, the first Judith Williams “Beauty Institute” opened in Munich, and Williams’ second wellness oasis opened ten years later in Innsbruck.
The show “Die Höhle der Löwen” was broadcast for the first time in 2014: Judith Williams was already there in the first season as an investor and juror and in the years that followed led brands such as NUI Naturkosmetik, ELIXR and Bitter Liebe to success with her colleagues from the show .
Two years later, the first “Glow Beauty Convention” founded by Williams and her business partner Georg Kofler took place – an international beauty fair that is also supported by the drugstore chain dm. The drugstore has been stocking Williams’ products since 2017, making Williams the first TV entrepreneur to take the step into international bricks-and-mortar retail. In 2019, the diverse entrepreneur, who supports sustainable and innovative startups in particular with “Die Höhle der Löwen”, received a “Special Vienna Award” in the category “Awareness for the Greater Good”.
Judith Williams’ motto: “Live your dream”
Williams is not limited to her teleshopping shows, “The Lion’s Den”, the “Glow Beauty Convention” or even her company: She is also an ambassador for SOS Children’s Villages, supports women’s shelters and runs other charity projects. In 2018 she competed as a dancer with professional Erich Klein on “Let’s Dance” to show that female entrepreneurs can be successful and have fun at the same time. In addition, she was already a candidate for “Who wants to be a millionaire” and takes part in various events several times a month.
Her cosmetics company focuses on products for women of all ages that are affordable but at the same time exude luxury. Williams has set up its own research department for the production of the products, which now also works with international cooperation partners and scientists from renowned universities.
In 2020, the power woman published her book “How dreams learn to fly”.
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