John Frieda, the British hairstylist who tended the hair of Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana and a long list of film and music stars, has died aged 75. His salon announced the death in an Instagram post on Tuesday, November 3.
The salon said Frieda had died peacefully, surrounded by his family. It described him as more than a mentor and as a true icon of the hair industry, crediting him with teaching its team everything and with making them better.
Born in 1951 into a family of hairdressers, Frieda trained at the House of Leonard salon in London. He built his reputation in the 1970s as a stylist to celebrities and high-fashion magazines, and the salons he later opened grew into an international haircare empire.
His clients over the years included Twiggy, Mick Jagger, Nicole Kidman and Madonna, as well as Kennedy and Diana. The product brand he founded, John Frieda Professional Hair Care, was behind the cult Frizz-Ease line and was sold to the Japanese cosmetics conglomerate Kao in 2002.
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.