QVC has found itself in the zeitgeist of pop culture thanks to a string of viral video clips. One that caught fire recently on social media was Toni Brattin accidentally dropping a NSFW phrase instead of the intended word blowout when describing a hairpiece. The wig designer and QVC have since had fun with the August 5 snafu. Brattin even appeared on the August 10 episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Not bad timing to be a hot topic of conversation considering the shopping network is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Popular personality Kim Gravel marks her own milestone in 2026, a decade working with QVC. The pageant queen turned entrepreneur’s unabashed relatability made the saucy Southerner an instant favorite and fixture across programming. A Gravel QVC+ channel even launched, complete with the network’s first call-in show Hey Girl! with Kim Gravel. Her business ventures continue to grow exponentially through a series of lifestyle brands. The Forbes 50 Over 50 recipient’s success speaks for itself in the form of having generated more than $1 billion in retail sales.
Here, Gravel reflects on buzzworthy moments, QVC’s history, and future.
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Congratulations on 10 years with QVC. Talk about the journey you’ve been on to where you are today.
Kim Gravel: I remember 10 years ago wanting to be at QVC because I watched Josie Maran build an incredible business. I was like, “You know, I think this would be a great fit for me. I can go straight to my girls, to my viewers. I can build something on my own terms.” I went into QVC thinking that if they can just give me seven minutes with my Flexibelle jeans, which is this revolutionary technology denim, I would have it made. I walked out of there as a full-on brand with four or five hours and doing beauty, too. It was a game-changer for me. And I was 46!
So, it’s almost like starting all over again with this new chapter of your career.
I started from nothing. I had never dreamed that I would have a clothing line, beauty line, home line, handbag line, and all that. My mom said I should try making these jeans. I thought, “I can’t make these jeans.” She said, ”Yeah, you can.” So, I did it and then 10 years later, I guess we sold over a billion dollars with the largest brand in QVC. Like you said, it was starting over. Actually, it wasn’t starting over. It was just starting. It was like I was an infant. I had never done that before.
Does the family get a kick out of everything that has happened over the last 10 years?
I have two children. One of them is a college sophomore and [the other] a senior in high school. They are unfazed. They don’t get it at all. They are more like, “Mom, just give me your credit card.”
What are some of your milestones you celebrate when you look back at your run so far?
I celebrate the relationships we’ve made with the viewers. It has been so special. My best friend is also my business partner as well. She is on the chats with these ladies every single Wednesday and Saturday. I’m so proud of that community we’ve built. Honestly, shopping has changed, and QVC was kind of like the OG of that with social media coming in and building that social connection. They did it before social media ever existed. So, for us to hop on to that and really connect to the customer, that was one of the most important things. I also think being the largest brand there is great. I don’t think there has ever been an apparel brand that has hit the numbers we have hit. That just goes to show you there is power in connection and power in this model. I think with TikTok, Amazon, and all these places that are selling live, QVC has been doing that for 40 years. I’ve been doing that for 10. It is nothing new under the sun, but a new way of doing it.
What did you make of the network leaning in on the streaming side with the advent of QVC+ and HSN+? Not only that, but also leveraging social media platforms, like TikTok for example, and the new opportunities in the marketplace that are out there.
It’s exciting. For me, we are branching out because we are even doing things within the telehealth space. We’re launching a new health company that is going to be strictly on streaming and work through QVC and all the different platforms. It’s called Meri Health. I’m excited because now everything is social with all these platforms. How you visit your doctors, exercise, get your information on different health things like vitamins and supplements. We’re leaning into that category. That’s our next venture we’re doing. To me, the streaming of QVC, we have to do it. People want an option to have on demand. QVC has been doing it for years, but just expanding. I’m just happy to be a part of it because I’m expanding, too.
There is nothing like live TV where you never know what you’re going to get. That was proven earlier this year between your “tassels on my pasties” caller and the caller who said she planned to be buried in a specific top of yours for a drive-by funeral.
You cannot script live TV. There is nothing like it. I thrive in life. To me, that’s where it’s the most fun. I’ve been doing it for a long time. I did a little talk show in Atlanta on this community station for 10 years in my 20s. It was two hours of live TV five nights a week. I got my chops, and the quickness of thinking on your feet, that has always excited me. I will tell you that everything should be live. I think that is where people get the most authentic, exciting, and sometimes inappropriate content. You can’t beat live TV.
What goes into the screening? Peel back the curtain. How much is known beforehand?
It’s totally unpredictable. Keep in mind, we are screening, but not going, “What are you going to say?” They can say what they want to say, but when they get on air, really say what they want to say. You don’t know. You’d be surprised. A lot of people underestimate the QVC audience. The audience is smart, sharp, and the demo has very accomplished women. These women know what they are doing. They call in and are just raw and real, and we give them permission to do that. There is not a lot of screening. They may ask what are you going to talk about, why are you calling in. Then when they put you on camera, you say what you need to say or whatever you want to say….clearly.
How did you take in the response from Marianne’s pasties story being shared like it has been? Have you connected since?
I loved it! Yeah, I reached out to Marianne. We told her how much we love her. She still watches us on Saturday nights and Wednesday mornings, and we send her stuff. Of course, she is just smart, sharp, and just telling her story. She still watches and calls in. That was a true story she told. She told me she used to wear our tassels on our pasties! She was a teen in the 1960s. So, fill in the blanks there.
Then there is Norma who talked about having a drive-in funeral and planned to be buried in one of your tops. At 88, she really shows age is but a number with how fun she was.
My dad turned 81 yesterday, and my mom is 79. Let me tell you something, 88 is not like it used to be. Age is just a number. You are so right. The older I get, the more I’m reminded of that.
What did you think of how Toni’s on-air blooper blew up overnight? She has been such a good sport, getting to the point of being on with Jimmy Fallon. She owned it.
I think it’s fantastic. Toni is fantastic. A strong entrepreneurial female powerhouse. Toni seems to be very button-up and put together, but she is a girl’s girl at heart. She loves to have a ball. So, when she said what she said and was like, “Oh my God!” I wish I had been there because I have watched it two million times. Be on Fallon, girl, and rock it out.
People have been digging into the archives of QVC and discovering all these other moments. It’s like a treasure trove. It’s almost like SNL sketches, but it really happened.
Exactly! I feel the same. You can’t make this stuff up. There is nothing like raw, authentic live television. There are so many bloopers and practical jokes, all the things on QVC. I’ve experienced so much just in my 10 years there. I can’t even remember them all.
Do you remember one that stands out as a viewer?
I remember when Nick Chavez, who has since passed on, fell on live TV. A caller calling in with Leah [Williams]. While on the phone on the air, the caller told her family to shut the you know what up because she was on TV. There are so many of them. All you have to do is put in bloopers from QVC and pull right up in the search. Viral moments before viral. I think one of the hosts recently even had one of the electric bikes and rode into a wall. There is stuff all the time.
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Where do you see the future of QVC going?
I’m hoping that QVC continues to grow on other social platforms with their products. I also see it as a collaborative platform for so many people. You’d be surprised how many celebrities, entrepreneurs, reach out to me on a weekly basis saying, “Kim, help me get into QVC.” It’s such a captive audience, but also a loyal audience with loyal customers. Personally, I’m hoping to bring in other brands to QVC to help grow their businesses, but I also want to see QVC collaborate with other platforms because nobody does it better than them. Everybody tries to do it, but nobody does it for them. They look to them for their expertise.
Any celebrities that you found out were big fans?
Well, Lance Bass is a good friend. Jennie Garth is a good friend at QVC. We’re always in constant contact regarding her business and growing it. Everywhere I go on a red carpet, I hear how they love me or their mom loves me. So many. I can’t even tell you. All these people, whether they are a celebrity or someone in their home eating leftovers, I’m coming into your home at least six hours a week. That’s the new talk show. I’m just talking to you while you’re eating your leftovers and drinking whatever you’re drinking and we’re just talking. I think what is old is new again. People may think QVC is old, but it is brand-new again in ways of selling lives and just talking. It’s not even selling really. It’s just showing good products while you’re having fun.
You’ve done reality TV before with Kim of Queens. Would you ever do reality TV again?
I would if it was the right project. Disney picked the reruns of that show up for two seasons. The message is so great. As long as they let me be me and I could do my message and help these young girls believe in themselves, sure.
You seem to have so much going on including a jewelry line I hear.
We’ve got jewelry coming out in the next week-and-a-half, home, Christmas trees, and fall decor, and textiles. We launched our sheets. It has all been so well-received with our health platform we’re launching in the next couple of months.
I don’t know how you are able to juggle it all.
I have a team, honey. I have a team of baller shot callers. We’ve got some sharp people working with us. To get the right people to work with you makes it not work at all. I’m ready for my boys to get involved, too. It’s time for them to have fun and get into the family business. They are ready…almost.
Then you’ll take their credit card next.
Thank you! Thank you, that’s right! Your lips to God’s ears.