{{Short description|English hair stylist (b.1958)}} {{for-multi|the English footballer|Nicky Clarke (footballer)|the Scottish footballer|Nicky Clark}} {{BLP sources|date=February 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person |name=Nicky Clarke |honorific_suffix = OBE |birth_date= |birth_place=United Kingdom |occupation=Hair stylist and media personality |spouse= |children= }} '''Nicky Clarke''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} is an English hair stylist and media personality who has appeared on several television shows. He closed his salon in 2022.
==Early life and education== Clarke grew up in a working-class family and lived in a council flat in London. His mother was a Greek immigrant who met his father when he was stationed in Greece during the war.<ref name="MyLondon"/>
In the 1980s, Clarke suffered from a heroin addiction which nearly cost him his life. His then girlfriend, Lesley, gave him an ultimatum of kicking him out or calling the police if he didn't get off the drugs, prompting him to seek help.<ref name="MyLondon"/>
==Career== Clarke's interest in hairdressing began when he was a teenager. He started off giving his friends and classmates trims before styling professionally aged just 16. When Clarke was 17, he had his first ''Vogue'' shoot in 1976 and soon after founded his first salon with John Frieda on Marylebone Road. In the 1990s, he founded his business in Mayfair, London with his then girlfriend Lesley, turning a £20,000 loan into a successful enterprise. He announced the closure of the salon in April 2022.<ref name="MyLondon">{{cite web|url=https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/britains-most-famous-hairstylist-nicky-23808183|title=Britain's most famous hairstylist Nicky Clarke is closing his £60m hair salon after 30 years in Mayfair|publisher=My London|date=28 April 2022|accessdate=22 July 2022}}</ref>
After retiring from gymnastics owing to injury, in 2003 former England champion gymnast Craig Pellowe started a new career as a hair stylist in Clarke's salon.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-02-14 |title=Injury problem forces Craig to retire |url=https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/7197462.injury-problem-forces-craig-to-retire/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Somerset County Gazette |language=en| quote= Craig, 24,... took the decision to retire after sustaining an ankle injury which has prevented him from competing to his own very high standards. }}</ref>
==Media appearances== Clarke has appeared on several TV shows. In 2002, Clarke was a guest panelist on Will Self's team for an episode of Shooting Stars; his team went on to win that episode. Clarke was also a member of "Team Dec" in ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway''{{when|reason=Your explanation here|date=July 2022}}. He appeared on ''Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' on Channel 4 on 14 November 2008 and as a judge on the final of ''Celebrity Scissorhands''. In 2011, he took part in ITV series ''71 Degrees North'' but was the first to be eliminated. In January 2014, he took part in the Channel 4 series ''The Jump''. In 2016, he was a contestant on ''Pointless Celebrities'', the celebrity edition of the British quiz show ''Pointless'', with fellow celebrity hairstylist Lee Stafford.
==Recognition and honours== Clarke was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 Birthday Honours for services to the hairdressing industry.<ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |date=15 June 2007 |issue=58358 |pages=9 |supp=1}}</ref>
==Personal life== Nicky married Lesley and they had two children. They separated in 1997 but continued to work together as business partners. In 2021, Clarke married his long-term partner Kelly Simpkin, whom he met in 2010 when she was a stylist working for him. The couple have two children together.<ref name="MyLondon"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|http://www.nickyclarke.com/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Nicky}} Category:Living people Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:British hairdressers Category:English people of Greek descent Category:Designers from London Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School, Lambeth Category:Year of birth missing (living people)