Hairstylist John Frieda Dies at 75, Creator of Purdey Cut and Frizz Ease

John Frieda, the British celebrity hairstylist who went on to build a global hair care brand, has died at 75. His London salon announced his death in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. The Guardian reported that the cause of death has not been made public.

Frieda styled clients ranging from Twiggy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Diana, Princess of Wales, Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson, according to the BBC and the Guardian. He also created the Purdey bowl cut for actor Joanna Lumley and later became known for products such as Frizz Ease.

How Frieda went from family salon to global brand

• 1951: Born Alan Howard Frieda in London, according to the BBC. The Guardian said he was born in Kenton, Middlesex. His father was a hairdresser with a salon in Ealing, and his grandfather was a Fleet Street barber.
• Early career: After joining the family trade, he became an assistant at House of Leonard, the salon known for Twiggy's cropped hair. The Guardian reported he took the name John because another stylist there was also called Alan. He later worked for British Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
• 1976: At age 25, he opened his own salon in central London and created the Purdey cut for Lumley's role in The New Avengers. The BBC said the salon was booked up months ahead.
• 1977: He married the Scottish singer Lulu. They had one son, Jordan Frieda, and the marriage ended in 1990.
• 1988: He launched Frizz Ease, developed with American hair care executive Gail Federici, according to the Guardian.
• 1990: He moved to the United States to focus on his growing hair care brand, a move the Guardian said contributed to the end of his first marriage.
• 1998: He launched the Sheer Blonde line, the Guardian reported.
• 2002: He and Federici sold the company to the Japanese conglomerate Kao. Both outlets put the deal at $450 million. The Guardian said Frieda kept five salons: two in London, two in New York and one in Los Angeles.
• 2019: He married Avery Agnelli, widow of a Fiat heir, whom he met in 2002, the Guardian reported. They had two children, Jackson and Leyla, and he was stepfather to her daughter, Asia Agnelli Lagrange.

Tributes from the salon and the industry

The salon's statement described Frieda as a mentor who taught his team everything and believed in them. It called him “a true icon of the hair industry.”

Cetera Lamb, creative director of the London salon, told the BBC and the Guardian that the industry had lost “a real maverick in hairdressing.” She said he led the salon for 50 years and left a legacy of creativity and vision.

Model and TV personality Jo Wood recalled on social media that Frieda did her hair when she was 16 and he was an assistant at Leonard's. The British Beauty Council sent condolences, and TV presenter and beauty entrepreneur Trinny Woodall posted a message of support to his family, the BBC reported.

Agnelli Lagrange shared photos of the two together on Instagram, writing that the world had lost the best man to ever exist, according to both outlets.

Why it matters: a name that spans salons and shelves

Frieda's career crossed two worlds: the celebrity salon chair and the mass-market hair care aisle. The BBC reported that his product business grew quickly through the 1990s and expanded into the U.S. and elsewhere. That gives his name a reach well beyond the clients he styled personally.

For his salon, the practical question is continuity. Lamb said the team will carry on in his honor and keep his values and vision for hairdressing alive. The salon's statement also said his legacy would live on in the people he trained. The sources do not describe any changes to the salons or to the products that bear his name.

The BBC said Frieda stepped back from cutting hair in the 1990s to concentrate on his product brand. Both outlets describe a career that moved from the salon floor to business ownership and, after 2002, to a deal worth $450 million.

Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News, The Guardian