Chris Madden (designer)
{{Short description|American businesswoman (1948–2022)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chris Madden
| birth_name = Ann Christine Casson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|6|1}}
| birth_place = Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|3|2|1948|6|1}}
| death_place = Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.
| alma_mater = Fashion Institute of Technology
| occupation = Interior designer, television host, author, businesswoman
| years_active = 1976–2022
}}
Ann Christine Madden (née Casson; June 1, 1948{{spnd}}March 2, 2022) was an American interior designer, television host, author, and businesswoman. As founder and chief executive officer of Chris Madden Inc, she built a multimillion-dollar home furnishings company through partnerships with Mohawk Industries, Bassett Furniture, and JCPenney.{{cite news|last=Mason|first=Brook S|title=Penney Hires Its Own Martha|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/business/business-penney-hires-its-own-martha.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2003}}
Early life
Ann Christine Casson was born in Rockville Centre, New York, on June 1, 1948. Her father, Edward Gaynor Casson, worked as a sales executive for the Mohawk Brush Company; her mother, Ann Marie Hill, was a housewife.{{cite news|title=Chris Madden, Lifestyle Author and Personality, Dies at 73|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/style/chris-madden-dead.html|first=Penelope|last=Green|date=March 22, 2022|access-date=March 23, 2022|newspaper=The New York Times}} One of nine children, she learned to sew from her mother and often visited her father's office in Manhattan. At age six, she appeared in Mademoiselle, and continued modelling in print-ads and catalogs.{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Stephen G|title=The Next Good Thing?|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/05/30/the-next-good-thing/|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=May 30, 2004}}
After graduating from St. Agnes High School, she was given a full scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Soon after she worked in the photography department of Sports Illustrated.{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Stephen G.|title=The Next Good Thing?|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/05/30/the-next-good-thing/|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=May 30, 2004}} She later worked in the publicity departments at publishers Random House, G.P. Putnam & Son, and Farrar Straus and Groux.{{cite news|last=Mason|first=Brook S|title=An Empire, Yes, But More Serene Than Martha's|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/28/business/business-an-empire-yes-but-more-serene-than-martha-s.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 28, 2002}}
Career
Madden started her own public relations firm in 1976, and then started writing books on decorating and show houses. After her early books such as Interior Visions (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1988), Rooms with a View (PBC International, 1992), and Kitchens (Clarkson Potter, 1993), Madden was selected by HGTV as one of their first four hosts. Her show Interiors by Design ran for eight seasons (1995–2003).{{cite news|last=Koncius|first=Jura|title=Chris Madden's Moment|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A396-2005Mar2.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 3, 2005}} In 1997, she became the design correspondent on The Oprah Winfrey Show.{{cite journal|last=Rose|first=Julie|author2=Nicholas Ferrer|title=Me Inc.|journal=Fortune|date=September 1, 2002|volume=2002|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2002/10/28/330924/index.htm}} The same year, Madden's A Room of Her Own was published by Clarkson Potter. It sold over 100,000 copies and went into 11 printings.{{cite web|title=A Room of Her Own|url=http://www.chrismadden.com/books/a-room-of-her-own/|publisher=Chris Madden}}
Madden launched a furniture line with Bassett Furniture Co in 1998, after originally being approached to as a spokesperson. After two years in development, a 70-piece Chris Madden line launched in 2000. By 2002, the line had sold over 100 million dollars' worth of product. This success with Bassett led to licensing deals with Austin Candles and Mohawk Flooring.
JCPenney announced their partnership with Madden in 2003. She served as Penney's home collection spokeswoman and design expert. She developed and designed a line of products that launched in 2004.{{cite news|last=Mason|first=Brook S.|title=Penney Hires Its Own Martha|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2003}} There were 675 items in the launch, the largest in Penney's history.{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Stephen G|title=The Next Good Thing?|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=May 30, 2004}} Madden's book Haven: Finding the Key to Your Personal Decorating Style (Clarkson Potter) was released at the same time. By 2005, her JCPenney collection had expanded to two thousand pieces.{{cite news|last=Koncius|first=Jura|title=Chris Madden's Moment|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 3, 2005}}
Madden began Project Katrina in 2007 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Four homes in Pass Christian, Mississippi were furnished with JCPenney products from Madden's personal warehouse.{{cite news|last=Peck|first=Renee|title='Gen Patton' of Designers Hits the Beach|newspaper=New Orleans Times Picayune|date=July 27, 2007}} Madden's philanthropy continued in 2008 when she partnered with Blue Star Mothers of America in Operation Cozy Comfort – replacing regulation army blankets with Chris Madden plush blankets from JCPenney.{{cite web|title=WestPoint Home Donates Chris Madden(R) Plush Blankets to Wounded American Soldiers as part of Blue Star Mothers of America "Operation Cozy Comfort"|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WestPoint+Home+Donates+Chris+Madden%28R%29+Plush+Blankets+to+Wounded...-a0183653072|publisher=Business Wire|year=2008}}
Madden was appointed to the board of trustees of the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2010. She served in that capacity until 2015.{{cite web|title=Chris Casson Madden Appointed to FIT Board of Trustees|url=http://www.fitnyc.edu/7245.asp|publisher=FIT|date=January 2010|access-date=June 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527183633/http://www.fitnyc.edu/7245.asp|archive-date=May 27, 2010|url-status=dead}} The same year, Madden's newest design book The Soul of a House – Decorating with Warmth, Style and Comfort was published by Rizzoli International.{{cite web|title=Chris Madden The Soul of a House: Decorating with Warmth, Style, and Comfort|url=http://www.rizzoliusa.com/book.php?isbn=9780847833702|publisher=Rizzoli International}}
Personal life and death
Madden was diagnosed with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, a rare genetic disorder, during her thirties. In 1974, she married Kevin Madden, publisher of House and Garden, Self, and Bon Appétit magazines. They met in the early 1970s,{{cite news|last=Brady|first=James|title=In Step with Chris Madden|newspaper=Parade |date=July 11, 2004}} and remained married until her death. Together, they had two children: Patrick and Nicholas.
Madden died at the age of 73 on March 2, 2022, at a hospital in Vero Beach, Florida. Prior to her death, she sustained head injuries after falling at her home.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madden, Chris}}
Category:American women interior designers
Category:American interior designers