Rachel Elnaugh became the first female Dragon on the British TV programme Dragon's Den.
Elnaugh was part of the original investor lineup when the BBC series launched in 2005. She was known for building Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts, and brought experience in consumer products and entrepreneurship to the panel.
Her tenure was relatively brief compared with some later Dragons, but her place in the programme’s history is clear. Deborah Meaden subsequently became one of the best-known female investors on the show, while later series added other prominent women such as Kelly Hoppen and Sara Davies.
A common mix-up is to name Meaden because she became much more closely associated with the long-running series. The question asks who was first, however, and that distinction points to Elnaugh, an original Dragon rather than a later addition.