Celebrity hairstylist John Frieda, who helped create Frizz-Ease, dies aged 75

The announcement

On Tuesday night, 3 November 2026, the official Instagram account of the John Frieda salon announced that the British hairstylist had died at the age of 75. The post carried a black-and-white photograph of him and said he had died surrounded by his family. The salon gave no cause of death. A tribute from colourist Nicola Clarke said he had battled an illness, a claim no other source confirmed.

The salon's statement read:

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that our dear John passed away peacefully...surrounded by his family.”

From the salon floor to Frizz-Ease

Frieda was born Alan Howard Frieda on 9 July 1951 in Kenton, Middlesex, according to Blick, and grew up around hairdressing. His father ran a salon in Ealing and his grandfather was a barber on Fleet Street. He joined the London salon House of Leonard as an assistant to Leonard Lewis, where his clients included Twiggy and Mick Jagger. In 1976 he created the Purdey haircut worn by Joanna Lumley for her role in The New Avengers, and the same year he opened his first salon of his own at the age of 25. The Evening Standard reported that he also went on to work for British Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. The coverage names Princess Diana, Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson among his clients.

Haircare business

Frieda later developed haircare products with the US manager Gail Federici, and the range made him known worldwide. Frizz-Ease launched in 1988 and Sheer Blonde followed in 1998. In 2002 he sold the brand to the Japanese company Kao, a deal The Independent put at $450 million, but he kept his salons.

Family and tributes

Frieda married the singer Lulu in 1976, and the couple had a son, Jordan. The marriage ended in divorce, dated to 1991 by The Independent and to 1992 by Blick. In 2019 he married Avery Agnelli, widow of the Fiat heir Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, and the couple had two children together. He leaves his wife, Frances Avery Agnelli, four children and two grandchildren.

His stepdaughter, Asia Agnelli Lagrange, shared a series of photographs of them together and wrote:

“Today we lost the best man to ever exist.”

Cetera Lamb, creative director at Frieda's London salon, also paid tribute, saying she considered the loss severe for the industry:

“The industry has lost a true legend, a real maverick in hairdressing.”

Lamb added that Frieda had led the salon for 50 years and that the team would keep his memory, values and love for hairdressing alive. Jo Wood, the former wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, recalled that Frieda styled her hair when she was 16 and he worked as an assistant at the salon. The British Beauty Council and the television presenter Trinny Woodall also posted condolences.