John Frieda, the pioneering British hairstylist who shaped the locks of global royalty and Hollywood stars before building a multimillion-dollar hair care empire, has died. He was 75.
Frieda passed away peacefully surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted Tuesday on his salon’s Instagram page. Outlets including NBC News and The Guardian reported that his cause of death has not been made public.
“John was more than a mentor to us; he was a true icon of the hair industry,” the salon said in its online announcement. “He was the person who taught us everything, believed in us, and made us better.”
From London Salons to Cultural Stardom
Born Alan Howard Frieda in Kenton, Middlesex, Frieda grew up around the craft. His grandfather was a barber and his father operated a salon in west London. Though his father initially hoped he would study medicine, Frieda opted for hairdressing, telling The Standard newspaper in 2012 that he entered the profession partly to escape academic studies, NBC News reported.
Starting at age 16 at London’s House of Leonard, he adopted the professional name John because another stylist at the business shared the name Alan. While assisting owner Lewis Leonard, he worked on prominent clients such as model Twiggy and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, according to The Cut.
Frieda established his own London salon in 1976 at the age of 25. That same year, he devised the “Purdey” bowl cut for actor Joanna Lumley in the television series “The New Avengers,” a look that sparked a widespread salon craze across Britain. In 1980, he styled Lady Diana Spencer for a British Vogue portrait shot by Lord Snowdon, helping introduce the pixie haircut that became her trademark when her royal engagement was announced the following year.
Over a career spanning five decades, Frieda’s client roster grew to include Diana, Princess of Wales, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, pop icon Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diana Ross.
Building a Global Product Empire
In the late 1980s, Frieda teamed with American hair care executive Gail Federici to branch into consumer products. News reports differ slightly on the product line’s initial timeline: The Guardian reported he introduced the Frizz Ease anti-frizz line in 1988, while The Cut reported it debuted in the United Kingdom in 1989 and the U.S. in 1990. NBC News noted the serum became popular through drugstore and salon shelves worldwide during the 1990s.
Frieda relocated to the United States in 1990 to oversee the expanding retail enterprise and opened salons in New York and Los Angeles, alongside international spots in Ibiza and Barbados. He added the Sheer Blonde product collection in 1998.
In 2002, Frieda sold his product business to the Japanese consumer goods corporation Kao in a transaction valued at $450 million, while keeping personal ownership of five salons located in London, New York and Los Angeles, The Guardian reported.
Family and Final Tributes
Reports also conflict regarding the date of Frieda’s first marriage: The Guardian and The Cut reported he married Scottish pop singer Lulu in 1977, while NBC News reported the marriage began in 1976. The couple, who had a son named Jordan, later divorced following Frieda’s move across the Atlantic.
Frieda met Avery Agnelli in 2002, and the couple married in 2019, sharing two children, Jackson and Leyla. His stepdaughter, Asia Agnelli Lagrange, wrote on social media that “today we lost the best man to ever exist,” adding that he had touched numerous lives.
Cetera Lamb, the creative director at Frieda’s London salon, described him as a “real maverick in hairdressing” who left behind a half-century legacy of creativity and vision, The Guardian reported. Details regarding memorial services have not yet been announced.
