Kelly Hoppen joined Dragons' Den in 2013 after building a career in fashion and interior design.
Hoppen is an English designer known for a restrained style often described through neutral colours, clean lines and an East-meets-West design influence. She established a successful interior-design practice and developed products and commercial projects under her name before moving into television investment.
She became a dragon in 2013, joining the panel during the programme's later period rather than being part of the original 2005 line-up. Her time on the show connected design, licensing and consumer-product expertise with the format's usual focus on investment pitches.
Hoppen is sometimes mixed up with Deborah Meaden because both are prominent female business figures associated with the programme. Meaden, however, was an established dragon before Hoppen joined, and their professional backgrounds are not identical.