Pat McGrath

Biography

Dame Patricia Ann McGrath DBE (born 11 June 1971) is a British make-up artist. She has been called the most influential make-up artist in the world by Vogue magazine and other commentators. 

In 2019 she was included in Time's 100 most influential people list. She is the first make-up artist to be made a Dame Commander of the British Empire.

McGrath was born and raised in Northampton, England in 1971, in a working-class household by her mother, Jean, who was a dressmaker and a Jehovah's Witness. 

Jean became a big influence on her daughter's eventual career in make-up, teaching and encouraging her to experiment with make-up and inspiring her love for fashion. McGrath has Jamaican ancestry.

McGrath's first breakthrough occurred in the early 1990s working alongside Edward Enninful at i-D magazine, continuing to work as a receptionist to support herself financially.

 In 1999 she was hired by Giorgio Armani to collaborate on a new range of cosmetics and became the recipient of the Pantene Pro-V Make-Up Artist Of The Year Award in both 2000 & 2001.

McGrath was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the fashion and beauty industry.

 Ten years prior, in 2004, McGrath was also hired by Procter & Gamble, as Global Cosmetics Creative Design Director in a multi-year partnership that was rumored to be paid at $1 million.

In 2015 she launched 'Pat McGrath Labs.', her own line of beauty products which by 2019 had become a $1 billion company and became the biggest-selling beauty line at Selfridges.

In 2017, McGrath was hired by Enninful as Beauty Editor-at-Large for British Vogue and in the same year won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator at the Fashion Awards, a British Fashion Council Event. 

In 2018, six leading stars, including Saoirse Ronan, Naomie Harris, and Sara Sampaio, wore Pat McGrath Labs make-up to the Fashion Awards. McGrath has also regularly appeared in the Top 10 of the Powerlist, highlighting the most influential Black British people across a number of industries