Pat McGrath Is the First Makeup Artist to Be Named a Dame
Feb 05, 2021 08:00AM ● By Boitumelo Masihleho
Queen Elizabeth II released her New Year 2021 Honours List in January which names the figures across British society and culture who would receive the crown’s highest accolades for their services to the country. This year, British make-up artist and the creative design director of Procter & Gamble beauty, Patricia Ann McGrath, commonly known as Pat McGrath or ‘Mother Pat, became the first makeup artist ever to receive a damehood.
“I am beyond humbled that I have been awarded a Damehood in the Queen’s New Year 2021 Honours List as a D.B.E – Dame of the British Empire for Services to the Fashion and Beauty Industry and Diversity,” said Dame McGrath in an Instagram post. “I am truly delighted and humbled to be given this wonderful honour. My mother’s obsession with beauty and fashion ignited my passion for this amazing industry and I feel blessed to have the privilege of working with some of the most extraordinary people throughout my career.”
Born June 11, 1970, in Northampton to Jamaican immigrants, McGrath has become one of the most influential and respected make-up artists in the fashion industry with her own successful makeup line, Pat McGrath Labs. Her career shot off in the 1980s when McGrath received a phone call asking her to go on tour in Japan with Caron Wheeler from Soul II Soul, whose make-up she had done one afternoon three years prior. This opportunity led to McGrath working with i-D magazine's fashion director Edward Enninful and, subsequently, being named beauty director for the title.
In the 1990s, McGrath spent 10 seasons creating the make-up concepts for fashion brands Prada and Miu Miu, and in 1999, she developed a line of cosmetics for Giorgio Armani. In 2004, McGrath was named Global Beauty Creative Design Director for Procter & Gamble, the company behind make-up brands including Max Factor and CoverGirl, and created Dolce & Gabbana: The Makeup. It was only in 2015 that she launched her Pat McGrath Labs and in 2018, it was valued at $1 billion, surpassing Kylie Cosmetics’ $800 million. In 2014, McGrath was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for her services to the fashion and beauty industries and made it to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019 list.
Source
Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies.
She's an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
