Who is Clementine?

Who Is the Apocryphal Clementine?

Long before there was Clementine’s Ice Cream, there was Clementine herself. At least, that's how we like to tell it.

Our apocryphal founder was a strong-willed, independent, free-thinking and smart-as-hell Southern belle who rebelled against her finishing-school roots to travel to Europe in search of a hard-knocks culinary education. She landed in Paris, where she spent nearly a decade following her appetite, honing her instincts and developing a taste for the unexpected.

Eventually, Clementine returned to the South Carolina countryside to care for her ailing parents and the family farm. Being the restless spirit that she was, Clementine saw the void in the market for making and selling the best ice cream in America that pulled all the parts of her together into one experience; part French cosmopolitan, part American agrarian with a southern flair, and part bold and expressive.

Her story inspired a world that feels equally at home in a Paris café and on a Southern front porch. It is polished without being precious, rooted in tradition but never too serious, and every bit as bold as the woman herself.

Clementine may be fictional, but the curiosity and independent spirit she represents have shaped our brand from the beginning.

Who Is the Real Clementine?

The name Clementine was inspired by a very real woman.

Clementine was the best friend of founder Tamara Keefe’s grandmother. Growing up, Tamara remembers many of the older women around her wearing short, tightly permed hairstyles and long cotton house dresses. Clementine was different.

She had long silver hair. She wore red lipstick, heels and beautiful accessories. She carried herself with a confidence that made her seem almost majestic to a young Tamara. Clementine showed her that growing older did not mean becoming less visible or less expressive. She was unforgettable, and she became one of Tamara’s earliest role models.

Tamara knew that if she ever had a daughter, she would name her Clementine.

Instead, Tamara created Clementine’s Ice Cream, a company she has nurtured with the kind of love, dedication and sacrifice usually reserved for something deeply personal. In many ways, Clementine’s became her baby.

The fictional Clementine gave our brand its adventurous spirit. The real Clementine gave it its name and a reminder to live boldly at every age.