Debra Lee - The Refined Glow

Former CEO of BET Debra Lee Releasing Memoir

Former BET CEO Debra Lee is about to give us a look into the glitz and glamour and insight into

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023

Meet Ms. Bea

Hi, I’m Beatrice — but the people who love me call me Ms. Bea, a nickname my family gave me early and one I have been living up to ever since. I grew up in the Mississippi Delta and came of age on the southside of Chicago, where something in me was being shaped long before I had the words for it. My first fashion education came from watching my older cousins and aunts — the women in my family who were the first to show me what quiet luxury and timeless elegance looked like. They moved through a room with intention, and I was taking notes. That love deepened watching Jackie Kennedy, Dynasty, and admiring Princess Diana — whom I share a birthday with — and somewhere along the way a classic slingback heel with a peep toe, pearls, and the color black became my signature before I was old enough to know what a style icon was. Jackie Kennedy in particular became my north star — the blueprint for a woman who could command a room with elegance, intention, and grace without ever raising her voice. Even then, I understood that the way a woman carries herself says something about the way she sees herself. My love for media was born watching the legendary Diann Burns own the Channel 7 news desk with that same kind of grace and authority. I knew then that I wanted a voice. I just had to figure out what to do with it. Faith gave me the foundation. Matthew 5:16 gave me the mandate. And everything I had been watching, studying, and absorbing my whole life finally had a purpose. Today that voice shows up at women’s empowerment conferences, on radio, and right here — where we talk fashion, beauty, faith, and the stories that remind us who we were made to be. My work has been featured in Variety Magazine and on press runs with MGM Studios, and I have had the privilege of covering events and campaigns for Netflix, MAC Cosmetics, EBONY, Essence Fest, The Stellar Awards, The Dove Awards, CREED III, Harriet, PRAISE THIS!, Baby2Baby, and more. I have also had the honor of attending the Magic Johnson 25 Years in Business Gala at the iconic Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles — an evening that reminded me exactly why showing up in every room you are invited into matters. But none of that is why I show up here every day. I show up because I believe with everything in me that a woman can be polished on the outside and powerful on the inside — and that those two things are never in conflict. I show up for the woman who is still becoming. The one who is learning to walk in her purpose without apologizing for also wanting to look good doing it. The one who glows not because life has been easy, but because she has decided to shine anyway. That woman is you. And this space was built for you. Have an event or product you would like covered? Reach me at bea@therefinedglow.com

The Refined Glow

Tag: Debra Lee

Former CEO of BET Debra Lee Releasing Memoir

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