Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to invest as a Dragon on the British version of Dragons' Den.
Elnaugh joined the original panel when the BBC launched the programme in 2005. She was a businesswoman best known for Red Letter Days, the experience-gift company she co-founded with her husband, Simon Elnaugh, in 1989.
Her appearance predates the better-known regular female Dragons Deborah Meaden and Kelly Hoppen. Meaden joined in 2006, while Hoppen joined in 2013. This timeline is why Elnaugh is the specific answer to the first-woman question, even though later female Dragons became more prominent in the show's long-term line-up.
Elnaugh left the panel after the second series. Red Letter Days later encountered financial difficulties and was acquired by Peter Jones in 2005. That business history is separate from the panel record, but it explains why Elnaugh and Jones are frequently mentioned together in accounts of the programme's early years.