Born in Switzerland to the Academy and Tony Award-winning actor Yul Brynner and his second wife, Doris, Brynner was educated in Lausanne and Geneva, and speaks French, English, Spanish, and Italian fluently. Growing up in such a rich cosmopolitan and artistic atmosphere—Elizabeth Taylor was her self-appointed godmother; Audrey Hepburn and Andy Warhol were among her close family friends—informed Brynner’s approach to business: she is vibrantly creative, and understands how to work with society’s greatest contemporary talents, many of whom are friends. Her Swiss education instilled a rigor and precision apparent in all that she does, making her one of the most efficient and professional consultants and producers in the fashion and decor industries.

Brynner started in the style business in the early 1980s as a model with Elite Model Management in Paris. She quickly moved to the other side of the camera, joining the Paris-based Gamma photo agency as a photojournalist—one of two women on the company’s staff at the time. A few years later, Brynner transferred to Gamma’s Los Angeles bureau, and among her regular assignments was photographing celebrities at home. Impressed by her work, the Italian glossy Moda hired her to produce photo shoots in Los Angeles; in turn, Brynner founded her own company, Stardust.

By the early 1990s, Brynner was radically changing the way fashion and celebrities were portrayed in magazines and advertising. She hired rising talents in photography, such as Mario Testino and Herb Ritts, and when Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz and Nick Knight had assignments in Los Angeles, Brynner served as their producer, organizing shoots in unconventional locations, such as in LA’s never-beforepublished Modernist homes. Brynner was the first to use the Sheats Goldstein Residence, a mid-century masterwork by American architect John Lautner, as a set for commercial purposes. It has since appeared in countless films, television series, music videos and fashion spreads.

In 1997, Brynner dreamed up and coordinated a shoot of the actors Will and Jada Smith by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair at the Ambassador Hotel, a 1920s Art Deco gem that had fallen into disrepair after Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination there in 1968. By choosing such a storied-yet-dilapidated site for a celebrity portrait, Brynner disrupted style media conventions and brought Hollywood’s history and architecture into the mainstream. She orchestrated Meisel’s glamorous Versace “Valley of the Dolls” campaign in 2000, and produced ads for Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Christian Dior, and others. Brynner became known as the style producer who could make the impossible happen, all while managing budgets and ensuring optimal conditions to allow creatives to produce their finest work.

Since then, Brynner has become as an advisor to luxury brands such as Lancôme, Chanel, Balenciaga, and Dior on a range of subjects, from product conception to innovative marketing plans. In 2008, she brought Anne Hathaway to Lancôme to replace longtime ambassador Isabella Rossellini. In 2015, she helped star makeup artist Pat McGrath create and launch her namesake cosmetics line. And Brynner initiated talks between Johnny Depp and Parfums Dior to feature Depp as the face of the brand’s new fragrance, Sauvage, in 2015. Brynner remains the business link between the two, and was instrumental in extending Depp’s contract—a deal worth several million dollars. LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault stated at a financial presentation in 2023 that Dior Sauvage was “achieving remarkable success…driven by the image of Johnny Depp.” Sauvage has ranked as the bestselling fragrance in the world for several years.

In addition to production and consulting, Brynner has authored two books on her father’s photography, Yul Brynner Photographer (Harry N. Abrams, 1996) and Yul Brynner: A Photographic Journey (Steidl, 2010). In 2023, she curated Yul Brynner’s Photography: An Extraordinary Vision, an exhibition of his work at Leica’s Los Angeles, Vienna, Tokyo and Kyoto galleries, ahead of the auction of two of his Leica cameras. In 2021, she founded Stage 117, a furniture brand that offers hand-crafted luxury reproductions of her father’s iconic folding stage chair. She plans to delve further into the decor and product design space, as well as expand her professional reach to include ambassadorships and board memberships.