Ariana Austin Makonnen

Princess Ariana Austin Makonnen of Ethiopia[2] (née Ariana Joy Lalita Austin; born 6 January 1984) is an American writer, arts manager and philanthropist. She is a member of the Ethiopian imperial family through her marriage to Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen, the great-grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Princess Ariana
Born	Ariana Joy Lalita Austin[1] 6 January 1984 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse	Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen ​ ​ (m. 2017)​
House	Solomon (by marriage)
Father	Bobby William Austin
Mother	Joy Ford
Religion	Ethiopian Orthodox
Occupation	Philanthropist, writer, arts manager

Family

Makonnen was born on 6 January 1984 in Washington, D.C., to Bobby William Austin, president of the Neighborhood Associates Corporation and the first African-American full-time academic faculty member at Georgetown University,[3] and Joy Ford, the executive director of Humanities DC, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.[4] She is of African-American and Guyanese descent.[5] Her maternal grandfather, John Meredith Ford, was Lord Mayor of Georgetown, Guyana.[6][7]

Education and career

Makonnen graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English literature from Fisk University. While at Fisk, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate she studied abroad at Magdalen College, Oxford and through Semester at Sea.[4] She has a master's degree in arts education and creative writing from Harvard University.[4][8][9][10] After finishing school she moved to Paris and worked as a teacher and freelance journalist. Inspired by the French art festival Nuit Blanche, she founded and directed Art All Night, an evening arts festival in Washington, D.C. featuring visual arts, live paintings, musical performances, light projections, and poetry readings.[4][2] Five years after starting Art All Night, Makonnen founded French Thomas, a creative agency that produced cultural and educational experiences in New York City, Camden and Washington, D.C.[11] She works in philanthropy at a division of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and serves as the Goodwill Ambassador of Friends of Guyana.[2][12] She has worked as a contributing writer for HuffPost.[13]

In November 2018 Makonnen and her husband launched Old World/New World Productions, a media company that produces documentaries, feature films, and television shows focused on Africa and the African diaspora.[14][15]

In May 2019 Makonnen was a co-host at a salon dinner for women leaders hosted by German diplomat Emily Haber.[16] In September 2019 Makonnen was a speaker at the third annual Women's Leadership and Business Conference, PowHERful: Transition from Inspiration to Action at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Guyana.[17]

Personal life

She met Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen, a great-grandson of the last Emperor of Ethiopia,[18] at Pearl nightclub in Washington, D.C. in December 2005.[4][12][19] She and Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen got engaged in 2014.[20] The couple were married on 9 September 2017 in an Ethiopian Orthodox ceremony at Debre Genet Medhanealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church in Temple Hills, Maryland.[4][21] Makonnen converted to Ethiopian Orthodoxy shortly before the wedding.[6] The wedding, which was officiated by thirteen priests, was featured in The New York Times and went viral, receiving international attention.[22] The couple were both crowned during the ceremony.[23] The reception was held at Foxchase Manor in Manassas, Virginia.[24] There were over three hundred guests at the wedding,[25] including Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, Prince Paul Makonnen, Prince Phillip Makonnen, Prince Beedemariam Makonnen, Princess Mary Asfaw Wossen, Johnnetta Cole, Sharon Pratt, and Brandon Todd. The wedding festivities lasted five days, from 5 September until 10 September.[6]

Prior to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, media outlets listed Makonnen along with Princess Angela of Liechtenstein, Princess Keisha Omilana, Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini of Swaziland, Emma Thynn, Viscountess Weymouth, Cécile de Massy, Princess Sarah Culberson, and Monica von Neumann as modern examples of black royal and noble women. A resurgence of articles about African royalty and nobles of African heritage, including Makonnen, circulated after the British royal wedding.[26][27]

References

1. "Royal Wedding : Ethiopian Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen Haile Selassie Married Ms. Ariana Joy Lalita Austin on Sunday 9 September". Little Ethiopia. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
2. "PRINCESS ARIANA AUSTIN MAKONNEN". Meridian. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
3. Swietek, Wes (26 October 2017). "Royal wedding had Bowling Green link". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
4. "She Met Her Prince (for Real!) at a D.C. Nightclub".
5. Hurd, Gordon (14 October 2017). "Bride met her 'Prince Charming' — as in actual royalty – in a Washington, D.C., nightclub". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
6. "Go Inside Prince Yoel of Ethiopia and Ariana Austin's Royal Wedding".
7. "GWYNN GARNETT DIES". 23 November 1995 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
8. "Inside Prince Yoel of Ethiopia and Ariana Austin's Royal Wedding".
9. Dawson, James (17 October 2017). "African Prince Finds Himself An American Princess". LADbible. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
10. Boucher, Phil (20 October 2017). "American Woman Marries African Prince She Met in D.C. Bar, Lives the Movie Coming to America". People. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
11. Makonnen, Ariana (20 June 2019). "An American Princess Opens Up About What It's Really Like to Marry Royalty". Town & Country. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
12. "An American woman married an Ethiopian prince she met in a nightclub – and the photos are magical".
13. "Ariana Austin – HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com.
14. "Ariana Austin Makonnen on Instagram: "We're ready🙌🏽 On Friday night, we held the soft launch of our new production company Old World/New World-which will give a fresh take on…"". Instagram. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
15. "HIH Prince Joel David Makonnen on Instagram: "Thank you to @neuehouse for hosting us last night at the "soft" launch of our OLD WORLD/NEW WORLD Production company. Thank you to everyone…"". Instagram. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
16. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/05/09/how-long-can-dems-hold-back-on-impeachment-433983
17. Chabrol, Denis (4 September 2019). "Guyanese-parented Ethiopia princess to participate in Annual Women's Leadership and Business Conference". Demerara Waves. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
18. Matera, Avery. "Royal Wedding Gowns Through the Years, in Honor of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Wedding". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
19. "Girl Marries Prince: Real Life 'Coming To America' Story". 18 October 2017.
20. Murphy, Carrie (18 October 2017). "An American Woman Met An Ethiopian Prince at a Bar—And They Had Quite The Lavish Wedding". simplemost. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
21. Masigan, Sammie (25 October 2017). "American Harvard Graduate Is Now Princess of Ethiopia". LifeStyleAsia. Retrieved 6 August 2018./
22. Thompson, Desire (18 October 2017). "Woman Becomes Princess After Marrying African Prince She Met at a Nightclub". VIBE. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
23. Embury-Dennis, Tom (17 October 2017). "American woman marries Ethiopian prince she met in nightclub". The Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
24. "Wedding of Haile Selassie's great-grandson sees union of Ethiopian, Guyanese heritages". Stabroek News. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
25. Mckenzie, Joi-Marie (19 October 2017). "How this bride found out her husband is a real-life Ethiopian prince". ABC News. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
26. Wade, Valerie. "Does Meghan Markle Need to Be the Black Princess You Want Her to Be?".
27. "Is the royal wedding a cause for feminist celebration or condemnation? Yes".