What is Kate Spade's birth name?

Kate Spade's birth name was Katherine Noel Brosnahan.

She was born on December 24, 1962, in Kansas City, Missouri, and later became professionally known as Kate Spade. “Kate Spade” came from her first name and the surname of Andy Spade, whom she married in 1994.

Brosnahan studied journalism at Arizona State University and moved to New York after college. Before creating her handbag company, she worked in the accessories department at Mademoiselle magazine. Her birth name is sometimes confused with her later married name, Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade, or with the professional name Kate Valentine.

In 1993, she and Andy Spade co-founded the company that became Kate Spade New York. The brand’s name therefore refers to the designer’s adopted married surname, not her family name at birth.