John Frieda, the British celebrity hairstylist and beauty-industry stalwart whose clients included Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Twiggy and Madonna, has died at 75. His salon announced the death on Tuesday, November 3, saying he passed away peacefully surrounded by his family.
In a statement posted on Instagram, the John Frieda salon said Frieda was more than a mentor and called him an icon of the hair industry. It said he taught his team, believed in them and made them better, presenting his death as a loss for the craft as well as for the business that bears his name.
Born in 1951, Frieda came from a family of hairdressers and trained at the House of Leonard salon in London. He established himself in the 1970s as a hairstylist to stars and high-fashion magazines, then opened his own salons, which expanded into an international haircare empire. His career therefore joined salon training, editorial styling and a consumer brand.
His clients over the years also included Mick Jagger and Nicole Kidman. Taken together, the names span royalty, film, music and fashion, reflecting a career that moved between celebrity styling, magazine work and the wider beauty market.
Frieda also built a product business. John Frieda Professional Hair Care, the brand behind the cult Frizz-Ease line, was sold to the Japanese cosmetics conglomerate Kao in 2002. The transaction marked a stage in the expansion of his name from salon services into consumer haircare, and it gave the hairstylist a commercial legacy beyond his salons.
He was 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. The comment echoed the salon's statement by stressing his standing among peers and his influence on those who worked with him.
The tributes from his salon centred on mentorship and craft, even as Frieda's business spanned salons and retail products. His career connected London training, celebrity and editorial styling, and a haircare brand that reached customers beyond the salon chair. The announcement did not give a cause of death.
The combination of salon work and products gave the Frieda name a reach beyond a single salon or city. His path from a family trade to an international haircare empire illustrates how a stylist's reputation can extend into consumer products while remaining tied to the craft.