Shelley von Strunckel Height, Age, Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Shelley von Strunckel

Bio/Wiki
Nickname	Shells
Profession(s)	Author, Astrologer
Famous For	Being one of the most well-known astrologers in the USA
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 5" (165 cm)
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Light Brown
Personal Life
Date of Birth	15 July 1946 (Monday)
Age (as of 2025)	79 Years
Birthplace	Hollywood, California
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Signature
Nationality	American
Hometown	Los Angeles, California
College/University	• University of California Evening School • Madras University
Educational Qualification(s)	• A degree in fashion designing from UCLA • A degree in philosophy from Madras University
Religion	Christianity
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian
Hobbies	Reading, Travelling
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Boyfriends	1 (died in September 1975)
Family
Husband/Spouse	Nigel Gerald (London-based lawyer)
Children	None
Parents	Father- Vice-president of an aerospace company Mother- Private Secretary
Siblings	Brother- 1 (died in September 1975)
Favourites
Food	Chicken-based dishes

Shelley von Strunckel's photo

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shelley von Strunckel

Shelley’s ancestors belonged to Germany. His great-grandfather moved to the United States of America to explore better work opportunities. They settled in Los Angeles, California, where she was raised.

While growing up, she had a British nanny with whom she developed a close bond. She is from a middle-class family.

Her interest in astrology arose when she was a teenager. She used to visit a lecture centre, where she attended personal development seminars, including those on EST and Eastern philosophy. Despite having a passion for astronomy, she never thought of making a career in this field. Talking about, in an interview, she said,
For me, astrology was part of an extensive study of Eastern and Western philosophical thought – one that I didn’t identify at first as being particularly special – and certainly not as my future career!”

On weekends, she used to hang out with her friends at burger joints and eat hamburgers mostly.

Her interest in astrology deepened further while she was working as an assistant buyer in a fashion retail store in California, when a friend of hers “forcibly” took her to attend an astrology seminar.

Later, she joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she enrolled on a nighttime fashion design course. Simultaneously, she started working with astrologers on a part-time basis and attended workshops to hone her skills.

At the age of 28, after completing her formal studies, Shelley joined a fashion company. She, however, did not like the toxic work culture there and quit. She often described her employers to her family as Attila the Hun and Simon Legree, two cruel slave traders who lived in the United States of America.

In 1970, she joined Stylist Bullocks and Broadway Department Stores in Los Angeles, where she worked as a Fashion Buyer, Fashion Office, Stylist Fashion Buyer, and Fashion Office. She worked there till 1976.

While working there, she underwent an advanced fashion design training module, which helped her to make clients with whom she worked privately. Other than that, she also gained experience in dealing with the public, marketing, and staffing.

In September 1975, her brother and boyfriend passed away while they were travelling together. To cope with the loss, she took a bereavement leave; however, her pay was deducted while citing that she was on leave. Therefore, she left her company in October of the same year without a job in hand.

While giving an interview, she claimed that her deceased boyfriend kept on visiting her for six months. She said,
My boyfriend came to see me regularly for about six months after he died, and it really helped. There was a certain point when he said, You’re OK now, I won’t be coming back, and I said, Fine, thank you so much, bye.”

While searching for a job, she decided to leave a career in fashion retailing and pursue a career in astrology.

Her journey as an astrologer began in 1975, when she read the horoscope of a lawyer friend and revealed that his client was hiding important evidence that could turn the case in his favour. Thereafter, she reached out to her friend’s client and shared her observations, helping them win the case. In an interview, she talked about it and said,
At a Halloween party, I told a lawyer I was an astrologer. He joked about needing help with a case, so I cast a horary chart and told him one of his clients was hiding key evidence. At his request, I called the client the next day and revealed the details. After a long pause, the client said, “How do you know that? Nobody knows that!”

Impressed by her skills, the client, despite having a PhD in Chemistry, left his field and started studying astrology with her to jointly pursue a career in it.

Soon after, she gained a lot of prominence in California and received many offers to teach at different institutes. She then started teaching students at her home, giving them personal tuition.

During the initial days of her career as an astrologer, Shelley said that the Americans avoided interacting with her as they thought her to be involved in witchcraft.

After two years of work as an astrologer, she shifted to India, where she enrolled at the University of Madras to pursue a degree in Eastern and Western philosophy.

There, she joined the Theosophical Society of India and worked with many renowned Indian and foreign philosophers.

After completing her studies, she started working as an astrologer in India, where she amalgamated Western astrology practices, principles of Hinduism, and stereotypical Indian beliefs.

She initially earned little to no money. She had to ration her food and think twice before purchasing a small thing like a magazine or bread.

After staying for a while in India, she relocated to the United States, where she started motivating students to pursue a career in astrology. According to her, even though astrology was picking up momentum in the US, people failed to see it with a “business perspective.”

Over time, she started making clients through her contacts and used to shuttle between Los Angeles and New York for her work.

To increase her clientele more in the US, she started approaching editors of local and national newspapers and magazines, who would publish articles on her behalf. The most efficient writer who assisted her the most in gaining clientele was Patric Walker, who used to write articles for her in the Town and Country column.

In his newspaper, she later started a column about stars and signs. This increased her presence manifold.

In 1990, she landed the opportunity to write a column for the renowned magazine Mirabella. She went on to publish numerous articles in the magazine, which gained huge popularity.

After Patrick retired from news editing, she received an offer to take up his role and become a full-time editor.

In April 1990, she joined Cobsultubg Astrologer as a writer and speaker.

In October 1990, on Patrick’s insistence, she started writing columns for the Evening Standard, a United Kingdom-based magazine.

In the same year, she started working as a freelance writer, consultant, and speaker.
Shelley holding an article written for the Evening Standard magazine

In 1991, after working for some months in the UK, she received an offer to write editorials about zodiac signs for the Sunday Times. Owing to her writing skills, she started working for the Sunday Times Magazine and worked alongside the Editor-in-Chief, Robin Morgan.

To improve her business and its outreach, Shelley started advertising astrology-related products to the customers. As per her, her stint at the fashion retail store helped her design products. She started with designing clothes, apparel, and watches.

She also started using the internet to provide services to the customers. She started providing a computerised chart calculation service, which allowed her to cater for the needs of a wide variety of customers without either of them having to visit one another.

In 1995, she became a member of numerous domestic and international non-profit organisations in London, the United Kingdom (UK), through which she helped the poor and the needy. Her stint at the NGOs ended in 2016.

She then worked with the British Red Cross as well and assisted the United Nations (UN) aid workers in helping the needy populace in poor countries. Through the organisation, she organised numerous fundraising events as well as the Harrods Bear fashion show.

As an astrologer, she has written articles for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, Gulf News, and English, French, and Chinese editions of Vogue, as well as The Times of India. Her articles are widely read in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South Asia.

During an interview, she revealed that she preferred making zodiac charts by hand, even though it may take some time, rather than using computers.
Shelley’s hand-made astrology chart

She also took part in a special “Paranormal Edition” of the game show The Weakest Link, where she was voted off as the sixth contestant.

Even though she is a Christian, she takes a keen interest in Hinduism. She also has many Hindu gods’ idols in her home.
Goddess Laxmi’s statue in Shelley’s house

She has her own company named Shelley von Strunckel Limited, which, as of 2025, had an annual revenue of $3 million.

Shelley has published numerous books. Some of her famous books include The No-nonsense Guide to the Sixth Sense (1990), Signs of the Times (1999), The Birthday Book: What the day you were born says about you (2020), and Astrology: Secrets of the Signs and Planets (Gothic Dreams) (2022).
Cover page of Astrology Secrets of the Signs and Planets (Gothic Dreams)