Celebrity Name: Kiki Rice
Brand Name: MiniLuxe
Represented By: THE·TEAM
Deal Type: Brand Ambassador + Investor
Announced: April 13, 2026
Impact: Elevates Rice’s visibility beyond the court, strengthens MiniLuxe’s connection to women’s basketball fans
- Nail care and services brand MiniLuxe has named NCAA basketball star Kiki Rice its first-ever brand ambassador, following UCLA’s championship victory over South Carolina on April 5.
- Rice also joins MiniLuxe as an investor, making this deal more than just a typical endorsement.
- Rather than pursuing a one-off partnership, Rice wanted to understand the business behind the brand, reflecting what she calls a “businesswoman mentality and a long-term view.”
- MiniLuxe CEO and co-founder Tony Tjan said Rice was chosen because she shares the brand’s values of empowerment and lives a life “on and off the court” that aligns with its core purpose.
Kiki Rice is stepping into a brand new arena, the nail salon. The UCLA Bruins point guard, fresh off her team’s first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, has been named the inaugural brand ambassador for nail care pioneer MiniLuxe, a historic first partnership for the brand.
She joins not only as the face of the brand but also as an investor, signaling a deeper commitment than the typical celebrity deal.
Rice said she’s been “very intentional” about the partnerships she pursues. What drew her in wasn’t just the product, it was the people and the environment. She likened the support system at MiniLuxe to the essential support staff behind every great athletic team.
On the court, Rice helped lead UCLA to its first-ever NCAA title, and was a key contributor as the Bruins posted a dominant 37-1 season. She was also honored as the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player this year.
Rice has built an impressive endorsement portfolio that includes Jordan Brand for which she became the first-ever college athlete to sign an NIL deal back in October 2022, as well as Beats by Dre, Neutrogena, and Buick, among others.
Just as Lexie Brown made waves with her brand ambassador deal for Curel, Rice’s move into beauty and nail care signals a growing trend of women’s basketball stars commanding top-tier lifestyle partnerships.
MiniLuxe, which has built its reputation on clean, ethical, and worker-friendly nail care, is making its first-ever ambassador play a big one.
Much like A’ja Wilson’s strategic equity-driven partnership with Panini America, Rice’s dual role as ambassador and investor adds an entirely new dimension to what brand partnerships mean for today’s women athletes.
CEO Tony Tjan said the goal is to build with someone invested not just in MiniLuxe’s services, but in its people and the broader opportunity to elevate the nail care industry.
Takeaways
This partnership is a textbook case of where sports and beauty are heading. Rice isn’t just lending her face to a brand, she’s buying into the vision.
For MiniLuxe, landing a reigning NCAA champion as their first-ever ambassador right before her WNBA debut is a masterstroke of timing. The nail care industry, often undervalued in the beauty world, is now getting the same blue-chip athlete energy that sneaker and skincare brands have been tapping for years.
What makes this deal stand out is the investor component. Rice is putting her brand currency and her money where her manicure is. That’s a new era of athlete-brand relationships, one where the athlete isn’t just a spokesperson, but a stakeholder with real skin in the game.
Will we see more WNBA-bound athletes negotiate investor equity alongside ambassador deals as standard practice going forward? Could Kiki Rice’s presence attract more Gen Z consumers to a brand that, until now, has been more known for its ethical model than its cultural cache?
