Antonia Okonma Shittu, who lost her hair twice – first after a bad reaction to dye and later during treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) – has built a wig business now valued at more than £20 million. The 44-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, founded A-List Lace Hair, whose celebrity clients include Serena Williams, Naomi Campbell, Solange Knowles and Nicki Minaj.
“I know what it feels like to lose your hair because of something that’s out of your control,” she told Metro. “We’re not just selling wigs. We’re helping women reconnect with themselves.”
From a London council estate to prime-time TV
Growing up on a London council estate, Antonia faced clear cultural expectations from her Nigerian family. “I was forced to be academic, which means you have to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or engineer. Those are your four options,” she said. “But a corporate job wasn’t really for me.”
Instead, she landed a role on ITV’s prime-time drama Bad Girls from 2004 to 2006. “My dad was livid,” she recalled. “He wanted me to finish my degree and follow a secure path. But when the programme aired, he used to tell everyone, ‘My daughter is on television, my daughter is a star!’ He was really, really proud.”
Building a business from three wigs
Working in television gave her an eye for the hair industry’s shortcomings. “Most people don’t realise almost every piece you see in a movie is a wig for continuity,” she explained. “I could spot them a mile off and believed I could do a better job.”
In 2008, while working in a call centre between acting gigs, she decided to take the leap. “When you come from humble beginnings and you haven’t grown up with a lot of resources, it makes you far more resourceful,” she said. “For me, it gave me a drive because I knew I wanted a different life. I didn’t want that to be the end of my story.”
With no outside funding, she bought just three wigs – one straight, one curly, and one wavy. “I convinced three friends at the time to buy one, and I used the money from that to buy my next pieces.” Those three wigs quickly became six, then 12. She set up a Facebook group, advertised on Gumtree, and sold products door-to-door.
Diagnosis and determination
That same year, her health took an unexpected turn. One afternoon, her shoe slipped off while walking down the street and she didn’t notice; another time, her grip failed and she dropped a pot of her mother’s stew. In November 2008, doctors diagnosed her with MS and warned she could be in a wheelchair within 12 months.
“It was very scary,” she recalled. “I was just in denial. When the doctors told me, I thought, ‘You can’t be talking about me.’” Backed by the support of her now-husband, Richard, she refused to halt her plans. “I became a lot more driven and intentional about the things I was doing. I still entered the London Marathon, which I used to do every year.”
Determined to open a salon in West Kensington to reach affluent clients, Antonia had to overcome steep financial hurdles. “We didn’t have money for staff. It was just me — answering the phone, making the appointments, turning up on doorsteps, selling from the boot of my car.” The graft paid off: in her first year, the business turned over £222,000, allowing her to secure a commercial lease in December 2009 by scraping together nine months’ rent and deposit upfront.
Setbacks and a Serena Williams breakthrough
Success brought new trials. She was hit by theft and refund scams, and in 2011, following the birth of her first child, she was rushed to hospital with heart failure. Doctors told her she was a “walking heart attack” and kept her on a ward for six weeks.
“It put life into perspective,” she said. “When you’re ambitious, it’s easy to feel everything is urgent and that you have to keep pushing no matter what. Until then, I’d been very hands-on with everything. Being forced to step away taught me quite early on that I had to trust the people around me.”
While juggling health issues and raising three children under three, her breakthrough arrived in 2016. Serena Williams discovered A-List Lace Hair and sent a direct message on Instagram ahead of Wimbledon. “I remember calling my mum saying, ‘I’m not sure I can do this. I’m not Tokyo Styles. Why would she want me?’” Antonia took the appointment, styled Serena’s hair, and was invited back to style her for the Champions’ Ball after the tennis star won the tournament. “She’s been buying from me ever since,” she said.
By 2017, online expansion pushed revenues past £3 million, paving the way to today’s £20 million valuation. “The goal for me has always been financial independence, creating something bigger than myself,” she said.
Impact and recognition
Yet for all the celebrity glamour, the emotional core of the business remains unchanged. One client with severe alopecia recently told Antonia the hair piece made her recognise herself in the mirror again, while another recovering from chemotherapy broke down in tears of relief.
“Knowing that something I started from nothing has restored confidence to thousands of women around the world,” she said, “is something I’ll never take for granted.”
Antonia won the Senior Leader award in the Entrepreneur category at this year’s Black British Business Awards, on October 9. “To hear I’d been chosen and remembering my journey was incredibly emotional,” she said. “I hope it encourages other people, especially those who may feel overlooked or limited by their circumstances, to believe that where you start doesn’t have to determine where you finish.”
