Celebrity Business Moves This Week: Drake, Alix Earle, Beauty Brands, and Big Retail Plays
- Jessica Ramirez

- Aug 29
- 3 min read

From Drake’s OVO deal to Alix Earle’s latest investment and influencer brands landing in Sephora and Target, here are the biggest celebrity business moves making headlines this week.
Drake Is Treating OVO Like a Grown-Up Business Now
Drake’s October’s Very Own is officially entering a new era. Authentic Brands Group acquired a majority stake in OVO, while Drake reportedly remains a minority owner and stays involved creatively. Translation... he gets to keep some influence without personally worrying about every hoodie, retail lease, and inventory spreadsheet.
Authentic specializes in scaling recognizable brands, so this could push OVO far beyond its current streetwear-and-fandom universe. It is also another reminder that celebrity brands are increasingly being built as sellable assets rather than very expensive side hobbies.
Alix Earle Is Collecting Equity Like Other People Collect Lip Gloss
Influencer Alix Earle is moving deeper into the investor lane with a stake in supplement company Cymbiotika. She has also been connected to investments in brands including Gorgie, SipMargs, and Poppi. This matters because the influencer business model is changing quickly.
Instead of simply accepting a check to hold a product in front of a camera and say, “Guys, I’m literally obsessed,” creators are increasingly asking for ownership. Frankly, equity is a little more exciting than another sponsored smoothie.
POV Beauty Is Heading to Sephora
Mikayla Nogueira’s POV Beauty is preparing to move into Sephora, giving the creator-founded beauty brand a major retail expansion. Viral launches are impressive, but getting onto Sephora shelves is where things become considerably more serious.
Retail distribution puts a brand in front of shoppers who may not follow the founder, know the lore, or have watched a single TikTok GRWM. That is the difference between having an internet moment and attempting to build an actual long-term beauty company.

Peta Murgatroyd Is Taking Beauty to Target
Peta Murgatroyd’s Peta Jane Beauty is also expanding its retail footprint, with the brand joining Target Beauty Studio. Moving into hundreds of Target locations gives the company something every emerging celebrity brand desperately wants... scale.
Social media can generate attention, but physical retail can generate customers who wandered in for toothpaste and somehow left with $87 worth of beauty products. Target knows this phenomenon extremely well.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Keeps Building With New Balance
Olympic star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone expanded her relationship with New Balance through another signature collection featuring footwear and apparel. Signature collections are particularly interesting because they move athletes beyond the traditional endorsement model.
Instead of simply starring in a campaign, the athlete becomes part of the product itself. That creates stronger brand identity, repeat collections, and potentially much more durable commercial value.
Kelly Rowland Joins the Beauty Ambassador Club
Kelly Rowland became a new Olay ambassador, adding another major beauty partnership to this week’s celebrity business activity. This one is more traditional than the equity-heavy deals popping up elsewhere, but major ambassador agreements still matter.
Established consumer brands continue to rely on celebrities for trust, visibility, and cultural relevance—and Rowland brings several decades of all three.
The most interesting part of this week’s business news is not any single deal. It is the shift happening underneath all of them. Celebrities and creators are increasingly moving from endorsement deals toward equity, licensing, signature products, retail expansion, and eventual exits.
Famous people are realizing that owning part of the thing can be considerably more lucrative than simply appearing next to the thing. Revolutionary economics, apparently.
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References
Authentic Brands Group / OVO coverage:https://finance.yahoo.com/media-advertising/articles/authentic-brands-group-acquires-drake-133159272.html
Vogue — The Rise of the Influencer-Investor:https://www.vogue.com/article/the-rise-of-the-influencer-investor
Inside Retail Asia — POV Beauty Sephora expansion:https://insideretail.asia/2026/08/26/pov-beauty-ceo-ani-hadjinian-discusses-the-brands-launch-into-sephora/
NEW YOU — Peta Jane Beauty and Target Beauty Studio:https://www.newyou.com/from-new-you-beauty-award-winners-to-target-peta-jane-beauty-and-glamazon-beauty-enter-a-major-new-retail-era/
PublicNow — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone x New Balance collection:https://www.publicnow.com/view/7F7EDEC86214C6D2A09247EA2E24EDCC6621C4BD
Yahoo Finance — Kelly Rowland joins Olay:https://finance.yahoo.com/media-advertising/articles/kelly-rowland-joins-olay-spotlight-150000676.html
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