Rachel Elnaugh became the first female Dragon to appear on the British television programme Dragon's Den.
Elnaugh is an English businesswoman who founded Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts. She joined the original investor lineup when the British version launched, making her the programme's first female Dragon. Her business story was closely tied to the growth of experience-based gift products.
Elnaugh left the show after its first series. Deborah Meaden later became the longest-serving woman on the panel, but she was not the first female Dragon. Kelly Hoppen and Sara Davies also joined in later periods, which is why the historical distinction can be overlooked.
The answer concerns the first woman to hold a Dragon seat, not the first woman to receive an offer or the first female entrepreneur to pitch. Those milestones would require different evidence and could produce different answers.