Bobbi Brown

Biography

Bobbi Brown (born April 14, 1957) is an American professional make-up artist, author, and the founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. She created ten natural-shade lipsticks which according to Entrepreneur "revolutionized the beauty industry". She has written nine books about beauty and wellness.

After leaving Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 2016, she launched Beauty Evolution, LLC, and became certified as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Brown also started a line of beauty-inspired wellness products. 

She curates an editorial website. She and her husband Steven Plofker reimagined The George, a 32-room boutique hotel located in Montclair, New Jersey.

Born in Chicago, Illinois to a Jewish family, Brown graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in theatrical makeup and photography. In 1980, she moved to New York City to work as a professional makeup artist.

Brown became known for a makeup style that included moderate and natural tones, which was a stark contrast to the bright colors used at the time.

She and a drugstore chemist created a line of ten lipsticks on beige pigment. In 1991, Brown and her husband partnered with another couple to launch the brand Bobbi Brown Essentials, which debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.

Estée Lauder bought the company in 1995, retaining Brown as an employee of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. In October 2016, Brown stepped down from the company. Her work has been featured on the covers of magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Self, and Town & Country.

Brown has received the Glamour Woman of the Year Award, The Fashion Group International Night of Stars Beauty Award, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation's ROBIE Humanitarian Award.

 She was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation and has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. 

She holds honorary doctorates from Montclair State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Monmouth University, and Emerson College.

 Following the release of her second makeup company in 2020, Allure magazine labeled Brown the "world’s patron saint of 'natural makeup.''