The Generous Patron Behind the Sussexes' Luxury Lifestyle
When you count Victoria Jackson among your friends, accommodation worries become a thing of the past. The celebrated Queen of Cosmetics maintains spectacular properties across America's most desirable locations, and she's been generously opening these doors to her close friends, the Duchess and Duke of Sussex.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry regularly enjoy stays at Jackson's impressive portfolio, which includes an Upper East Side New York brownstone, a Beverly Hills mansion, and a Montecito estate between mountains and Pacific coastline.
Properties Fit for Royalty
The connection became public when Meghan's recent Harper's Bazaar interview revealed she was staying at Jackson's New York brownstone, where a house manager formally announced her to the journalist. According to well-placed sources, this has become the couple's habitual New York base during business trips, including during the controversial 2023 paparazzi car chase incident.
The exquisitely appointed property features an interior glass elevator and kitchen with oak worktops, as noted in the magazine's cover story. "They have been staying there for years, they always stay at Jackson's houses," confirmed the source.
Jackson's Los Angeles residence also serves as a regular base for the couple, who reportedly stayed there just two weeks before attending Kris Jenner's controversial 70th birthday party. The whopping 14-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion, originally built for silent film star Buster Keaton in 1926, boasts a 50ft living room, 60ft pool, and staff quarters. Previous resident Cary Grant would recognise the property's 500ft olive-lined driveway, so extensive that guests require golf cart transport to the front door.
Even in their own Montecito neighbourhood, Meghan prefers Jackson's mansion, hosting her 41st birthday party there in 2021 rather than at her own home. The following year, she conducted an interview with The Cut at the same location. The property has proven particularly popular with young Archie and Lilibet, who apparently adore petting Jackson's micropigs.
As one insider revealed: "Victoria's houses make their place in Montecito look like a prison or a beach shack. It suits them for security, the houses are unbelievable, and they don't have to pay at all, which is also appealing."
Beyond Accommodation: Private Jets and Business Ventures
The generosity extends far beyond property. Jackson reportedly lends the couple her Dassault Falcon private jet for trips, saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars while providing enhanced security during travel.
The business relationship has also flourished. Earlier this month, Meghan established her first pop-up shop for As Ever products at Godmothers, the Montecito bookstore co-owned by Jackson and her literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. An Instagram Reel from November 6 showed the Duchess arranging her fruit spreads and candles in the first-floor event space.
Through Jackson's patronage, the couple appear to maintain a quasi-royal lifestyle without the associated costs. The 70-year-old cosmetics tycoon has become something of a mother figure to both Harry and Meghan since their introduction by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, one of Jackson's New York neighbours, shortly after "Megxit."
The Sussexes quickly integrated into Jackson's exclusive millionaires' social circle, which includes long-time friend Kris Jenner and Oprah Winfrey. In return, they've actively supported Jackson's business ventures.
Before the As Ever launch, they attended several events at the Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, near Montecito. Last year, Meghan wore foundation and blusher from Jackson's No Makeup Makeup range to the ESPY awards where Harry received an honour. Unusually, her makeup artist Daniel Martin credited the brand on Instagram, though no money changed hands and it wasn't an official ambassadorship.
Jackson responded on Instagram: "You look stunning, Meghan! Thank you @danielmartin so much for your support with No Makeup Makeup's red carpet debut! Xo Victoria."
The friendship extended to Meghan's With Love, Meghan series, where Jackson joined as part of the "Maj squad" to play mahjong.
The Remarkable Woman Behind the Generosity
So who is the woman playing such a significant role in the lives of the estranged prince and his wife, who has distanced herself from her own father?
Victoria Jackson's life story reads like an inspirational novel. In a January interview with People magazine, she revealed a childhood marked by poverty and trauma. Born to a mother too young for parenthood, she was raised in a household with an alcoholic stepfather. At 17, she survived a horrific sexual assault and stabbing in her bedroom by a serial rapist later convicted of multiple crimes.
"I never went back in my room again," she told the magazine. "I could have let that be a defining moment where I never got off the floor again. Or I could go, 'OK, that is really horrible and I'm going to do the work to help me get to the other side.'"
Moving to Hollywood, she won a beauty school scholarship in 1976 and built a successful career as a makeup artist. In 1986, she founded Victoria Jackson Cosmetics as a backlash against heavy 1980s makeup trends, promising: "When you look better, you feel better and when you feel better you can change the world."
Her infomercials generated $1 million in sales within their first week, leading to a stellar QVC career where women embraced her "no makeup makeup" philosophy. During this period, she generated an astonishing billion dollars in sales.
Her 1991 marriage to wealthy businessman Bill Guthy brought children Ali and Jackson. In 2008, daughter Ali was diagnosed with rare autoimmune disease neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and given four years to live. Jackson established a charitable foundation to improve understanding and treatment, contributing over $80 million of her own money. By 2020, three approved treatments existed for the disease, and her daughter Ali is now 31.
This year marked Jackson's return to makeup with No Makeup Makeup's QVC launch. She credits Meghan's natural 2018 wedding look with sparking renewed interest in pared-down beauty. "I think now more than ever, people feel, 'I don't have to hide behind it all,'" she observed.
The accomplished entrepreneur has authored five books and co-founded the Godmothers bookstore with her literary agent. Like Meghan, she maintains an interest in design and decorating.
Feminist icon and close friend Gloria Steinem told People: "If you put her in a novel, it would be unbelievable." Meanwhile, Meghan herself referred to Jackson as her "safe harbour" in a 2021 interview – a sentiment that now carries profound new meaning given the extraordinary support network she provides.
