Princess Diana’s hair stylist dies aged 75 as tributes pour in for ‘true icon’

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

The salon described him as “a true icon of the hair industry,” adding: “He was the person who taught us everything, believed in us, and made us better.”

Beyond styling the hair of royalty and Hollywood stars, Mr Frieda revolutionised haircare with his pioneering Frizz-Ease range, which became a household name worldwide.

Born Alan Howard Frieda in Kenton, Middlesex, in 1951, he was the son of a Polish-born father and an Irish mother.

Hairdressing ran in the family; his father owned a salon in Ealing, while his grandfather had been a barber on Fleet Street.

Despite being privately educated at King’s School in Harrow with hopes he might pursue medicine, poor exam results led him to start cutting hair at 16.

“I became a hairdresser for all the wrong reasons, to get out of studying… My father was very angry,” Mr Frieda said of his own journey.

He subsequently joined the prestigious House of Leonard salon, where he adopted the name John after discovering another Alan already worked there.

At the House of Leonard, the legendary “super stylist” Leonard Lewis handpicked him as his personal assistant — the man credited with crafting the haircut that launched Twiggy’s career.

Through this role, Mr Frieda began working with British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, styling an illustrious roster of clients including Jackie Onassis and Mick Jagger.

His work with British Vogue led to one of his most high-profile commissions: styling Princess Diana’s blonde pixie cut for her engagement portrait in the magazine in 1981.

His celebrity clientele would eventually include Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson.

During the 1980s, Frieda collaborated with American haircare executive Gail Federici to develop his own product line, launching the now-iconic Frizz-Ease range in 1988.

Mr Frieda married Scottish pop singer Lulu at Hampstead Register Office in October 1976, and the couple had a son, Jordan.

However, as his hairdressing empire expanded, the pair grew apart and split in 1990.

Fellow hairstylist Nicky Clarke described Mr Frieda as “one of the most influential and wonderful mentors in my life, the kindest man”.

His stepdaughter Asia Agnelli Lagrange wrote on social media: “Today we lost the best man ever to exist. I share this because I know he touched the lives of so many.”

Cetera Lamb, creative director at Frieda’s London salon, hailed him as “a true legend, a real maverick in hairdressing” whose legacy of passion and creativity would endure through those he inspired.