Sometimes called the queen of American fashion, Donna Karan (born 1948) has earned a reputation as a world-class designer as well as a strong businesswoman in charge of a large retail corporation.

Donna Karan built her enormous fashion empire in less than a decade on one extraordinarily simple idea: If she needs a particular item of clothing--a bodysuit, a wrap skirt, a chiffon blouse, a longer jacket--then every other woman needs it too. This theory of visually inspired instincts made her one of the top fashion designers in the world. In 1992 Donna Karan New York, then totaling 14 divisions including fragrance, body care products, accessories, lingerie, and mens, womens, and childrenswear, grossed $275 million.

Karan was born Donna Faske in 1948 in New York and raised on Long Island. Her mother was a model and her father a haberdasher. Karan was fashion-obsessed from an early age, attending Parson's School of Design, which...