Model | Presenter | Entrepreneur
Founder Grace&Us
ABOUT ANOUK
Anouk Smulders is a Dutch model, TV presenter and entrepreneur. Her career launched in her early twenties after being ‘spotted’ by a casting agent while studying abroad in France. After quickly appearing on the cover of French Elle, and subsequently signing a worldwide contract with Christian Dior, her modelling career exploded and she spent the next 10 years living in France and New York. After she met her now husband she returned first to London and then to the Netherlands to start her family, and at the same time begin her TV career. During that period Anouk co-founded her first company doing event productions along with three girlfriends, while hosting some of the Netherlands’ favourite entertainment shows.
After spending over twenty years in front of a camera Anouk decided to take a step back. She wanted to start the next phase of her career doing something that truly brought her energy, was fulfilling, and that was about realness and inspiration. Through her life and career she had met so many amazing women with incredible stories to tell, and she wanted to create a platform to celebrate those women, and build a community around them that would show support and kindness to one another. And so Grace&Us was born.
Grace&Us began with the idea of a ‘Wereld Wijf’ - a well known Dutch expression that translates to an ‘amazing woman’. It’s an expression that Anouk would use all the time, and that her friends would also say to her, and it’s a sentiment that really resonated with her. It is a person who lives through life experiences and has ups and downs, and it’s a word for people you appreciate, that give you strength and motivation.
The idea behind this expression grew into what Grace&Us is today, a modern place to share, be inspired and inspiring, be daring, powerful, find support, show support, and sometimes even get a little crazy. The name Grace&Us has its origins in Anouk’s own name, meaning Grace, and in Greek mythology the plural ‘Graces’ refers to three sister goddesses who are the givers of beauty and charm. The sentiment of the word grace today is about a special sense of femininity, a giving and gracious attitude, and showing respect and honour. Grace&Us embodies all of this, born with a Dutch heart and a world view to include badass babes everywhere. Because together we can kick some real ass.
Grace&Us began with the idea of a ‘Wereld Wijf’ - a well known Dutch expression that translates to an ‘amazing woman’. It’s an expression that Anouk would use all the time, and that her friends would also say to her, and it’s a sentiment that really resonated with her. It is a person who lives through life experiences and has ups and downs, and it’s a word for people you appreciate, that give you strength and motivation.
The idea behind this expression grew into what Grace&Us is today, a modern place to share, be inspired and inspiring, be daring, powerful, find support, show support, and sometimes even get a little crazy. The name Grace&Us has its origins in Anouk’s own name, meaning Grace, and in Greek mythology the plural ‘Graces’ refers to three sister goddesses who are the givers of beauty and charm. The sentiment of the word grace today is about a special sense of femininity, a giving and gracious attitude, and showing respect and honour. Grace&Us embodies all of this, born with a Dutch heart and a world view to include badass babes everywhere. Because together we can kick some real ass.
