John Frieda, the London hairdresser who styled stars and royalty before building the Frizz-Ease and Sheer Blonde haircare empire, has died at 75. His salon announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday, Nov. 3, saying he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.
What We Know
The John Frieda Salon described its founder as “a true icon of the hair industry” and “more than a mentor,” adding that he “taught us everything.” No cause of death was given. The statement also paid tribute to the many stylists he trained and mentored over five decades behind the chair.
Frieda’s name became familiar far beyond the salon world thanks to his products, which line drugstore shelves in the US, the UK and dozens of other markets. He is survived by his wife, Frances Avery Agnelli, and his children, including actor Jordan Frieda, his son with Scottish singer Lulu.
Background
Born Alan Howard Frieda in London in 1951, he grew up around hairdressing: his father ran a salon in Ealing and his grandfather was a Fleet Street barber, according to the Mirror. He trained under the celebrated stylist Leonard Lewis at the House of Leonard in Mayfair, then built a reputation working on shoots for British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
His big pop-culture moment came in 1976, when he created the sleek bowl cut Joanna Lumley wore as Purdey in The New Avengers, a look that women across Britain copied. He opened his first London salon the same year, and over the following decades his client list grew to include Princess Diana and a long line of models and actors.
In the late 1980s he moved into products. Frizz-Ease, developed with business partner Gail Federici, launched in 1988 and turned an everyday hair problem into a best-selling category. The Sheer Blonde range followed. In 2002 he sold the haircare business to Japan’s Kao Corporation but kept his salons, which today operate in London, New York and Los Angeles.
Frieda was married to Lulu from 1977 until their divorce in 1991. He later married Frances Avery Agnelli, the widow of Italian industrialist Giovanni Alberto Agnelli.
Reactions
Tributes came quickly from family and friends. His stepdaughter Asia wrote that “today we lost the best man to ever exist,” according to the Mirror. Model and TV personality Jo Wood recalled that Frieda did her hair when she was 16 and he was still an assistant, while beauty entrepreneur Trinny Woodall sent “so much love” to the family.
The reaction underlined how wide Frieda’s circle was, stretching from fashion and television to music. Few hairdressers of his generation became household names on both sides of the Atlantic, and fewer still turned that fame into a brand sold in supermarkets worldwide.
What’s Next
Funeral arrangements have not been made public. The salons that carry his name in London, New York and Los Angeles remain open, and the Frizz-Ease and Sheer Blonde lines he created are still among the best-known names in global haircare, more than two decades after he sold the business. The Sunday Times Rich List had estimated his fortune at around £150 million as recently as 2025.
For more British icons, read our biographies of Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, or our report on Ellen producer Matthew Wright.