When Antonia Okonma Shittu received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at 26, she faced an uncertain future. Working between acting roles and shifts in a call centre, the news felt like a watershed moment that forced her to reassess her priorities and ambitions.
It does really make you think about what you want to do in life,she reflected on that turning point.
Rather than surrender to the prognosis, she drew on a childhood passion for styling hair and transformed it into a business venture. Starting with just two wigs, she sold them door-to-door from her car boot, operating from a west London council estate where she had grown up.
Nearly two decades later, Antonia has built a multi-million-pound enterprise. According to recent reporting, A-List Lace Hair is now valued at more than £20 million, with a client roster that includes tennis champion Serena Williams, supermodel Naomi Campbell, and actress Niecey Nash. She was also honoured as Entrepreneur Senior Leader at the 2026 Black British Business Awards, held at London's Hilton Park Lane.
Now 44, Antonia continues to manage her health alongside her business responsibilities. Beyond her MS diagnosis, she has also been treated for Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition, and heart failure. Despite these challenges, she remains committed to demonstrating that serious health conditions need not derail entrepreneurial ambition.
How did a wig shortage lead to a business opportunity?
Antonia identified a clear market gap while working in television and film production, including on the ITV series Bad Girls two decades ago. The wigs available to her and her colleagues were uniformly poor quality.
Women wanted natural-looking wigs and they just weren't available. They looked like helmets!she recalls.
She launched a Facebook page and began posting advertisements on Gumtree, operating with minimal capital and no external investors.
I had very limited resources. I didn't have any investors behind me. I come from very humble beginnings.
Her personal experience with hair loss proved invaluable to her understanding of customer needs. According to available accounts, Shittu first lost her hair following a severe reaction to hair dye, then experienced hair loss again during chemotherapy as part of her MS treatment. This dual experience gave her profound insight into the emotional impact of baldness.
Having been
completely baldherself, she understood the sense of lost control that many women experience when their hair falls out. She recognised that a well-fitted wig could restore not just appearance but also self-identity.
I didn't feel like myself,she explains,
but being able to put on a wig that looks something close to how your hair was, or the look you used to have, it's as though you can feel like yourself again.
Witnessing a customer's transformation when she puts on a finished wig is deeply meaningful to Antonia.
When we feel good about ourselves...we're more confident, we can achieve more. I felt like I was changing the world, one person at a time.
What was the breakthrough moment with Serena Williams?
A pivotal turning point came in 2016 when tennis legend Serena Williams reached out to Antonia via Instagram ahead of Wimbledon. Antonia styled her for both the tournament and the Champions' Ball, an engagement that significantly raised the profile of her brand among elite clientele.
The company's growth trajectory has been remarkable. The business generated £222,000 in its first year of trading and had exceeded £3 million in annual revenue by 2017. Beyond Williams, Naomi Campbell, and Niecey Nash, her client base has expanded to include musicians Solange Knowles and Nicki Minaj.
How has managing multiple health conditions shaped her business approach?
Antonia's MS causes significant fatigue, and she uses a wheelchair for mobility. Rather than viewing these constraints as obstacles, she has restructured her business operations to accommodate them. She now operates salons in both London and New York.
I used to feel that being a good entrepreneur was being able to do as much as I can myself,she says. However, her health challenges have necessitated a different strategy.
Due to my health challenges, there are days where I literally can't feel my legs, they feel like jelly, there's days where I'm completely exhausted after sleeping, I wake up completely shattered.
This reality has forced her to delegate and build a capable team around her.
This has forced her to trust other people and gain strength in building a team.Rather than viewing this as a weakness, she has come to see it as essential to sustainable growth.
Being a woman in a wheelchair navigating business environments presents additional challenges. At industry events, she sometimes feels diminished by the physical dynamics of conversation when others must look down at her.
People are often surprised when I start speaking about my business, as though they're thinking 'how have you accomplished all of this in a wheelchair?'
Antonia, who is raising three young children, has reframed being underestimated as an advantage. She has chosen to speak openly about her disabilities and health conditions online, finding that this transparency has strengthened her rather than weakened her position. What she once perceived as weakness stemming from her disability has transformed into a source of resilience and authenticity.
What advice does she offer to other women facing similar barriers?
When asked what she would tell another woman who fears that age, disability, or health problems might prevent her from achieving success, Antonia offers straightforward encouragement.
I would encourage them to just start. You might not have control over your health, you might not know what tomorrow is going to bring, and you might not have all the resources. But start with what you do have, and let's see what could happen next.
Her message emphasises that entrepreneurship does not require perfect circumstances or complete certainty about the future. Instead, it demands only that one begin with available resources and remain willing to adapt as circumstances evolve.
