John Frieda, the British celebrity hairstylist and beauty-industry figure whose clients included Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana, has died at 75, his salon announced on Tuesday, November 3.
The John Frieda salon said in an Instagram post that Frieda died peacefully surrounded by his family. It called him more than a mentor and a true icon of the hair industry, saying he taught the team, believed in its members and made them better.
Born in 1951, Frieda came from a family of hairdressers and trained at the House of Leonard salon in London. In the 1970s he built a reputation as a hairstylist for stars and high-fashion magazines before opening his own salons, which grew into an international haircare empire.
His career clients also included Twiggy, Mick Jagger, Nicole Kidman and Madonna. His hair-product brand, John Frieda Professional Hair Care, was behind the cult Frizz-Ease line and was sold to Japanese cosmetics conglomerate Kao in 2002.
The salon's post presented the loss in personal terms, describing a figure who shaped the people who worked with him as well as the clients he styled. Frieda married twice and had four children.
Cetera Lamb, creative director at his salon, said the industry had lost a true legend and a real maverick in hairdressing.