You probably recognize her face, even if you don't think you do. If you’ve ever watched the 1987 classic Baby Boom, you’ve seen a tiny, wide-eyed version of Michelle Kristina Kennedy being lugged around in an Hermès bag by Diane Keaton.
Back then, she and her twin sister, Kristina, were the "it" infants of Hollywood. They played Elizabeth Wiatt, the baby who upends a high-powered executive's life. It’s kinda poetic, actually. Decades later, the real Michelle Kennedy became exactly the kind of high-powered executive the movie depicted—minus the sudden inheritance of a long-lost cousin's toddler.
People always wonder what happens to child stars. Do they just vanish? Usually. But Michelle didn't. She didn't stay in the acting lane either. Instead, she pivoted so hard she ended up at the very top of the London tech scene, eventually founding Peanut, an app that basically redefined how women connect during motherhood and beyond.
From the Silver Screen to the Boardroom
It wasn't a straight line from movie sets to venture capital. Not even close. Michelle actually started out as a corporate lawyer. Think M&A, high-stakes negotiations, and a lot of risk assessment. She worked at the prestigious firm Mishcon de Reya before realized she wanted to be on the other side of the deals.
She landed at Badoo, which was a massive dating behemoth at the time. She wasn't just an employee; she rose to become Deputy CEO. While she was there, she played a massive role in the birth of Bumble. She was an inaugural board member, working alongside Whitney Wolfe Herd to create a platform where women made the first move.
But then, life happened. Specifically, her son Finn was born.
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The "Aha" Moment Nobody Tells You About
Honestly, being a new mom is lonely. You’d think with all the "mommy groups" and forums out there, it would be easy to find your people. It’s not.
Michelle found herself awake at 2 AM, scrolling through ancient message boards where people used weird acronyms like "DH" for Dear Husband and "TTC" for Trying To Conceive. It felt outdated. It felt cold. Most importantly, it didn't feel like her. She was a modern woman used to sleek interfaces and swipe-right technology.
"I couldn't believe nothing was really existing or being built for me. I wanted support, I wanted community." — Michelle Kennedy on the origins of Peanut.
So, she did what any tech exec with a background in social discovery would do. She built it. Peanut launched in 2017, and it wasn't just "Tinder for moms," though that’s what the headlines called it. It was a space for vulnerability.
Why Michelle Kristina Kennedy Matters Today
It’s easy to dismiss a "mom app" as a niche project. That would be a huge mistake. Michelle grew Peanut from a small networking tool into a platform with over 3 million users. She’s raised over $23 million in funding.
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The interesting part? She didn't stop at motherhood.
Michelle noticed that the same isolation she felt after having a baby happened to women during menopause. And during fertility struggles. She expanded the app to cover the entire lifecycle of womanhood. That’s the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in action. She didn't just read a market report; she lived the problem and used her decade of tech experience to fix it.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often confuse her with other Michelle Kennedys—there’s a writer in Baltimore and a former politician in North Carolina. But the Baby Boom twin turned tech founder is a specific brand of powerhouse.
She’s been very open about the "madness" of starting a company with a toddler. She didn't have a "Plan B" that involved quitting. She had to fund it herself initially, using what she calls her "squirrel pot" of savings to pay engineers for the first six months.
Lessons From the Peanut Journey
If you’re looking to follow in her footsteps, her career offers a few non-obvious takeaways:
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- Risk is a skill. Her legal background taught her how to spot risks, but her time at Badoo taught her when to take them. You need both.
- Empathy is a product feature. Peanut works because it acknowledges the "ugly" parts of motherhood—the loneliness and the fear—instead of just the Instagram-perfect parts.
- Networking is everything. She pitched the idea of Peanut to Whitney Wolfe Herd at a Bumble event in New York. Within 48 hours, she had her first investor.
Moving Forward: What You Can Do
Michelle’s story isn't just a "child star makes good" narrative. It’s a blueprint for career pivoting. If you're feeling stuck in a corporate role but have an itch to build something, start by looking at the gaps in your own life.
Take these steps to evaluate your own "Peanut" moment:
- Identify the Friction: Where in your daily life do you feel "this should be easier"?
- Audit Your Skillset: Michelle used her knowledge of dating algorithms to build a friendship app. What "boring" corporate skill do you have that could be applied to a creative problem?
- Find Your Village: You don't have to do it alone. Join communities—whether it's on Peanut, LinkedIn, or local founder groups—to vet your ideas with people who have been there.
The reality is that Michelle Kristina Kennedy didn't let her past define her. She used the visibility of her early years and the grit of her corporate years to build something that actually helps people. That's a legacy worth more than a box office hit.
Next Steps: You can explore the Peanut app to see how community-led growth works in practice, or research Michelle’s "StartHER" initiative, which focuses on helping other female founders get the funding they deserve.