Antonia Okonma Shittu, the founder and CEO of A-List Lace Hair, built a company worth more than £20 million from selling wigs door-to-door, according to an interview with Metro. Her brand, now loved by celebrities like Serena Williams, Naomi Campbell, Solange Knowles, and Nicki Minaj, started with just three wigs in 2008.
From Council Estate to Entrepreneurial Drive
Growing up on a London council estate, Antonia says her humble beginnings fueled her ambition. 'When you come from humble beginnings, and you haven’t grown up with a lot of resources, it makes you far more resourceful,' she told Metro. 'For me, it gave me a drive because I knew I wanted a different life. I didn’t want that to be the end of my story.'
Her Nigerian background initially pushed her toward a corporate career, but she found her calling in creativity. At 20, while studying at university, she landed a role on the ITV prime-time show Bad Girls from 2004 to 2006. Her father, initially livid, later became proud, telling everyone, 'My daughter is on television, my daughter is a star!'
Spotting a Gap in the Market
Working in acting made Antonia notice a market need for natural-looking wigs. 'Most people don’t realise almost every piece you see in a movie is a wig for continuity,' she said. While working in a call centre between acting jobs in 2008, she came up with the idea for A-List Lace Hair. With no investors or funding, she bought just three pieces: one straight, one curly, and one wavy. 'I convinced three friends at the time to buy one, and I used the money from that to buy my next pieces,' Antonia remembers. Those three wigs became six, then 12. She created a Facebook group, advertised on Gumtree, and began selling hair products door-to-door.
Overcoming Health Challenges
In 2008, Antonia's life changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in November 2008. Doctors warned she might be in a wheelchair within a year. 'It was very scary,' she recalls. 'I was just in denial. I remember when the doctors told me, I thought, “you can’t be talking about me.”' With support from her now-husband, Richard, she remained determined and kept working toward her business goals. 'I became a lot more driven and intentional about the things I was doing. I still entered the London Marathon, which I used to do every year.'
Another health setback came after the birth of her eldest child in 2011, when she was diagnosed with heart failure during a prenatal appointment. Doctors told her she was 'a walking heart attack' and admitted her to hospital for six weeks. 'It was a huge shock because I hadn’t gone into hospital expecting anything to be wrong,' she remembers. 'It was frightening; it put life into perspective. When you’re ambitious and building a business, it’s very easy to feel as though everything is urgent and that you have to keep pushing no matter what. That experience taught me that my health had to come first.'
Building the Business Against the Odds
Antonia's early business days were fraught with challenges. She was robbed when a customer took a product without paying, costing her around £300, while another scammed her with refunds, costing the business another £2,000. Despite this, within the first year, the business turned over around £222,000. In December 2009, she opened her first salon in West Kensington, securing the lease by providing the first quarter’s rent plus a deposit equivalent to a further six months. 'That was a huge amount of money for me at the time and probably one of the first major financial hurdles I faced,' she explains.
Her big turning point came in 2016 when Serena Williams discovered A-List Lace Hair and DMed them on Instagram, saying she was in London for Wimbledon and wanted to see the pieces. Antonia was blown away but filled with self-doubt. 'I remember calling my mum saying, “I’m not sure I can do this. I’m not Tokyo Styles. Why would she want me?”' The meeting was 'insane,' and Antonia styled Serena’s hair. The tennis player loved it so much that she asked Antonia to do it again for the Champions Ball after winning a Grand Slam. 'It was such an experience, she’s been buying from me ever since,' says Antonia.
By 2017, the business had expanded into online sales and was making more than £3 million in revenue. Today, Antonia, now 44 and using a wheelchair due to MS, says her company’s mission is about more than selling wigs: 'We’re helping women reconnect with themselves.' Her own hair loss from bleaching and chemotherapy for MS shaped this mission. 'I know what it feels like to lose your hair because of something that’s out of your control,' she explains. 'It changed the way I related to our customers.'
Recognition and Impact
Antonia is a finalist at this year’s Black British Business Awards, founded in 2014 to spotlight exceptional Black talent in the UK. 'To hear I’d been chosen and remembering my journey was incredibly emotional,' she says. 'I hope it encourages other people, especially those who may feel overlooked or limited by their circumstances, to believe that where you start doesn’t have to determine where you finish.' The winners will be announced on October 9, 2026.
