Huda Kattan is the mind behind the billion-dollar cosmetic line Huda Beauty. Kattan is a makeup artist and beauty influencer by profession who started the company with a loan of 6 thousand USD in 2013 and has turned it into a global brand.
Initially, Huda Beauty only sold fake eyelashes, but later, it added more beauty products like concealer, lip liners, foundations, etc.
Kattan successfully led the company for many years as its CEO and took it to such a peak. However, she stepped down from her CEO post in 2018 to appoint Nathalie Kristi, who has more than twenty years of experience in the beauty industry, as the new CEO.
Now, Kattan is more involved in the creative production of cosmetic products as the founder and charge of the creative side of the business.
Biography & Wiki Quick Summary
| Popular Name | Huda Kattan |
| Real Name | Huda Kattan |
| Nickname | Heidi |
| Date of birth | October 2, 1983 |
| Age | 40 years old |
| Place of birth | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA |
| Father | Ibrahim Kattan |
| Mother | Susu Al Qazzaz |
| Siblings | Three |
| Brother | Khalid Kattan |
| Sister(s) | Mona Kattan and Alya Kattan |
| Orientation | Straight |
| Status | Married |
| Spouse | Christopher Goncalo |
| Children | One |
| Daughter | Nour Gisele |
| Occupation | Makeup Artist, Beauty Influencer and Entrepreneur |
| Net worth | 490 Million USD |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Zodiac | Libras |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (179 cm) |
| Weight | 60 kg |
| Measurement | 34-28-36 |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Complexion | Fair |
| Instagram id | hudabeauty |
| HudaKattan233 | |
| Website | hudabeauty.com |
Huda Kattan’s Net Worth
The Kim Kardashian West of the beauty influencers has been running the Huda Beauty since 2010.
All these years, she worked hard to make her cosmetic line one of the best.
Her company has more than fifteen stores worldwide and makes millions of dollars yearly. She was number one on the list of wealthy cosmetic beauty influencers.
According to Forbes, Kattan had a net worth of 490 million USD and an annual sale of 250 million USD till last year. She also gets around 18 thousand USD per her Instagram post.
Huda’s Muslim Parents, Personal Life, and Family
Kattan was born in Oklahoma to her Iraqi Muslim parents, Ibrahim and Susu. While her father came to the USA to study mechanical engineering, her mother came to teach biology.
The beauty influencer grew up in a close household with her two sisters and a brother.
The family initially lived in Cookeville Tennessee before moving to Dartmouth in Massachusetts. The family later moved to Dubai, when Ibrahim got a teaching job there.
Growing up, Kattan faced a lot of bullying. Her friends used to call her monkey for having body hair.
It made her insecure about many things even when she was all grown up. It was also because of these insecurities that she got her nose and chest done.
She also kept filler in her face, cheeks, and lips to have more defined facial features. However, she has accepted her insecurities in the last few years and taken the fillers out for a more natural look.
Her success gave her the confidence to be bold and accept herself. However, her success wasn’t easy.
She initially learned makeup in LA to prove to her father and husband that makeup wasn’t just a time pass for her and she could make a living out of it.
During this, her elder sister, Mona, also inspired her to start a beauty blog called Huda Beauty, where she gave free makeup tips.
Gradually the blog became famous, and she started her line of cosmetics. Mona was also one of her first investors.
While her elder sister Mona became her business partner, her other sister, Alya, became her social media manager.
The three sisters then worked to their bone to turn Huda Beauty into a worldwide brand.
And after ten years of hard work, the company is a billion-dollar establishment with millions of annual sales.
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Huda Husband and Relationship
The beauty influencer has been married to her husband, Christopher Goncalo, since June 2009.
She met her husband when she was just sixteen years old and was in high school. The high school sweethearts were serious about each other despite still being young.
So, when the Kattan family moved to Dubai in 2006, Goncalo also went with them. He lived with the family for three years before marrying their daughter.
Kattan and Goncalo then welcomed their beautiful daughter, Nour, in 2011 after two years of marriage.
Though it has been more than twelve years of marriage, the couple is still together.
Education
Kattan did her schooling at the local school in her hometown.
After completing high school, she enrolled at the University of Michigan and got a degree in finance.
Despite having a college degree, she joined the Joe Blasco Makeup Academy to become a makeup artist.
Career
Kattan started working as a PR director for the Golden Key International Honors Society when she was still in college.
She worked her for a year and eight months before working as the president of Enacts Unites States.
The beauty influencer was doing a decent job with her degree, but she decided to give a new direction to her career.
She then decided to learn makeup. After learning makeup for a year, she started giving her services to big names in Hollywood like Nicole Richie.
| Career Milestone | Company/Brand |
|---|---|
| PR Director | Golden Key International Honors Society |
| President | Enacts United States |
| Makeup Artist | Self-employed |
| Founder & CEO | Huda Beauty |
| Recognition in 40 under 40 | Huda Beauty |
| Listed among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet | Huda Beauty |
| Launch of FB Watch series – “Huda Boss” | Huda Beauty (Original FB Watch with family) |
| $500,000 Donation | NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund |
| $100,000 Donation to India Breath COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser | India Breath COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser (Jay Shetty initiative) |
Despite having a great career in LA, she returned to Dubai, where her family was.
While in Dubai, her elder sister advised her to start a beauty blog called Huda Beauty.
The blog became a huge success, and she decided to start a beauty brand with the same name.
She initially sold only fake eyelashes but later brought many other cosmetic products for her buyers.
She worked as the founder and CEO of the cosmetic line for many years before appointing a professional help, Nathalie Kristi, as the new CEO.
Kattan shared that she never wanted to work as a CEO as she was interested in creating new products.
So, after resigning as the CEO, she took the role of creative head and looked after the creative side of the business.
With Huda Beauty, Kattan made it in the 40 under 40. She even became one of the 25 most influential; people on the internet.
Along with her cosmetic line, the successful entrepreneur also has her original FB watch with her family called Huda Boss.
Besides having a great career and business, Kattan also gives back to her community.
She donated 500 thousand USD to the NAACP in its legal defense and educational fund.
She also donated 100 thousand to the India Breath COVID-19 relief fundraised initiated by the motivational speaker and author Jay Shetty and his wife.
Kattan has donated a lot to charities and for good causes. She is also a great advocate of self-love.
To promote self-love and stop unrealistic beauty standards, Huda Beauty even started a petition asking the influencer and other respective parties to disclose whenever they use edited pictures or videos.
Kattan has been working deliberately to bring quality products and positivity among her consumers.
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Controversies
Like many other celebrities, Kattan also could not keep away from controversies.
She has been part of many controversies to date, out of which most are for colorism.
Often people have accused Kattan that she doesn’t showcase the women of darker skin in the ads of her products.
While this accusation was still on, another one was raised when she posted an ad picture of a dark-skinned woman putting on lots of makeup for a fairer appearance.
Many people came forward to call out Kattan for promoting the toxic norm of having fairer skin among women of color, despite knowing that it was a sensitive topic.
The picture got removed because of all these backlashes. But the company never made an apology.
Besides colorism, people have also accused Kattan of introducing cosmetic products that had similarities with other small cosmetic brands.
Despite all these controversies, Kattan never addressed them, let alone apologized. The beauty community found this very disrespectful and backlashed Huda Beauty.
