Huda Kattan

Huda Kattan
Born
Huda Kattan

(1983-10-02) October 2, 1983
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan–Dearborn
Occupations
  • Makeup artist
  • beauty blogger
  • entrepreneur
Years active2010–present
Websitehudabeauty.com

Huda Heidi Kattan (born October 2, 1983) is an Iraqi American makeup artist, beauty blogger and entrepreneur.[1][2][3][4] She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty.

Early life

Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,[5] as one of four children.[6] Her parents are both from Iraq.[5] The family later moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, and then to Dartmouth, Massachusetts.[7] Kattan attended the University of Michigan–Dearborn where she majored in finance.[5][6][8] After not having much success in her finance job, Huda quit and became a makeup artist. [9]

Career

In 2006, Kattan moved to Dubai with her father because he accepted a job opportunity as a teacher in the emirate.[6][7] A few years later, Kattan moved to Los Angeles, where she studied makeup.[3][5][7][10] Among her clients were celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie.[5] Kattan then returned to Dubai where she became employed by Revlon as a makeup artist.[3][6] In April 2010, upon the advice of one of her sisters, Kattan started a beauty-related WordPress blog which she named "Huda Beauty" on which she would post makeup tutorials and tips.[5][6][7][8][11]

In 2013, Kattan founded a cosmetics line which, like her blog, is also called "Huda Beauty."[1][6][7][8][12] Her first product, a series of false eyelashes,[6][7] was released through Sephora.[8][13] The Huda Beauty label achieved success with the sales of the false eyelashes, which were famously worn by Kim Kardashian.[8]

Huda's company, which is based in Dubai, later began to offer other beauty products, including eye shadow palettes, liquid lipsticks, lip liners, highlighter palettes, foundations, concealers, baking powders and liquid eyeshadows.[3][6][7][10][12][13]

Kattan achieved popularity on Instagram, attaining more than 54 million followers as of 2025.[1][2][6][10][13][14] Kattan is ranked #1 on the "2017 Influencer Instagram Rich List", earning $18,000 for each post of sponsored content.[6][15] Kattan has been described as "a Kim Kardashian of the beauty influencer economy",[7] and was declared one of the "ten most powerful influencers in the world of beauty" by Forbes magazine.[16] She was chosen as one of "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet" by Time magazine in 2017.[6][14] Kattan has reportedly influenced entire brand and product line sales in the region. In 2017, after she mentioned a Foreo product on her YouTube channel, the brush sold out within a week in Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale’s Dubai.[8] In 2020, Kattan was listed on Fortune's 40 Under 40[17] In 2021, she was ranked number one on Cosmetify's Beauty Influencer Rich List.[18]

In 2018, Kattan began starring in her own original Facebook Watch reality series entitled Huda Boss,[19] alongside her family.

In 2021, Kattan participated in a campaign to provide food and donated one million meals through her cosmetics company Huda Beauty.[20]

Philanthropy and activism

Through her cosmetics brand, Huda Beauty, Kattan has participated in various philanthropic efforts. In June 2020, Kattan announced that Huda Beauty will donate $500,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.[21]

In 2021, Kattan and Huda Beauty started a petition for beauty brands to disclose when they've retouched or edited their images or videos, to help dismantle "toxic" social media beauty standards.[22] Through her beauty brand, she has also supported the Asian American community,[23] Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and food drive initiatives such as 100 Million Meals.[24] Kattan has also used her social media platforms to condemn the Gaza genocide. [25] In May 2021, Kattan and her company, Huda Beauty donated $100,000 to Help India Breathe, a COVID-19 relief fundraiser launched by former monk Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhika Devlukia-Shetty.[26]

In November 2023, Kattan donated $1 million to two humanitarian organizations working in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders and Human Appeal.[27][28]

Personal life

In high school, Kattan met her husband, Christopher Goncalo, who is of Portuguese heritage.[29] The couple moved to Dubai in 2006, got married in June 2009, and had their first child in 2011.[6] Kattan is Muslim.[8] One of Kattan's sisters is her business partner, Mona; while another sister manages Kattan's social media, Alya.[7] Mona Kattan, in addition to being the co-founder of Huda Beauty, is the founder of Kayali fragrances. Huda is the face of the makeup brand, while Mona is focusing on her perfume brand.[30] Kattan was a friend of actress Eva Longoria for over ten years. However, in 2024 they had a falling out over Longoria's continuing support of Israel.[31]

Controversy

In July 2025, Kattan posted a video on her TikTok account supporting antisemitic conspiracy theories about Israel being behind World Wars I and II, the September 11 attacks, and the October 7 attacks.[32][33] The video was then taken down by TikTok,[32] while French cosmetics retailer Sephora pledged to carry out an investigation regarding their partnership with Kattan.[34]

Awards

In November 2023, Kattan was named in the BBC's 100 Women list.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c Shatzman, Celia (October 24, 2017). "4 Crazy Beauty Hacks From Huda Kattan That Really Work". Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Hirsch, Lauren (October 23, 2017). "The price of beauty is now measured by Instagram followers (and she has more than Leonardo DiCaprio)". CNBC. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Shunatona, Brooke (July 11, 2016). "10 Reasons Huda Kattan Is the Baddest Beauty Blogger in the Game". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  4. ^ Spector, David (August 7, 2025). "Sephora urged to drop Huda Beauty cosmetic line after its founder accuses Israel of causing all World Wars". Fox News. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Schaefer, Kayleen (January 15, 2016). "Beauty Blogging in Dubai". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ghanem, Khaoula (October 2, 2017). "9 Facts About Huda Kattan". Vogue Arabia. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shapiro, Bee (March 20, 2017). "Is Huda Kattan the Most Influential Beauty Blogger in the World?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g McClear, Sheila (June 28, 2017). "How Huda Huda Kattan Turned Blogging Into a Beauty Empire". Allure. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Huda Kattan". Forbes. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Valdesolo, Fiorella (October 16, 2017). "Huda Kattan Has 21 Million Followers, a Cult Makeup Line, and Something to Say". Glamour. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  11. ^ Mankani, Sneha (September 7, 2017). "Huda Kattan spills the beans on how she built her beauty empire". Vogue India. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Menkes, Suzy (April 7, 2017). "#CNILux: Huda Beauty - Making Its Mark". Vogue Italia. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Imtiaz, Saba (October 30, 2017). "All made up! The indie makeup brands that are catering to women of colour". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Time staff (June 26, 2017). "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet". Time. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Instagram Rich List 2017 – The Platform's Highest-Earners Revealed!". Hopper HQ. October 20, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Top Influencers of 2017: Beauty". Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  17. ^ "Fortune 40 under 40". Fortune. April 21, 2021.
  18. ^ "The Beauty Influencer Rich List". Cosmetify. April 21, 2021.
  19. ^ Spangler, Todd (May 30, 2018). "Instagram Star Huda Kattan Gets Her Own Reality Show on Facebook Watch". Variety. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  20. ^ "Beauty mogul Huda Kattan donates one million meals to new UAE campaign". Arab News. April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Huda Kattan donates $500,000 amid US protests". Arab News. June 3, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  22. ^ "'Enough is enough': Huda Kattan's mission to stop 'toxic' beauty standards". Emirates Woman. April 6, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "Huda Kattan Stands in Solidarity with Asian Americans in the Protest of Racism". Vogue Arabia. March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Huda Kattan Donates One Million Meals to the Region's Largest Ramadan Food Drive". Vogue Arabia. April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  25. ^ "Beauty mogul Huda Kattan condemns 'unjust' situation in Palestine". Arab News. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  26. ^ "Beauty mogul Huda Kattan donates to Indian COVID-19 relief efforts". Arab News. May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  27. ^ "Huda Kattan donates $1m to humanitarian organizations in Gaza". November 10, 2023.
  28. ^ "Beyond Beauty: Huda Kattan Donates $1 Million to Humanitarian Organisations in Gaza". Grazia.
  29. ^ "Instagram". November 16, 2023.
  30. ^ "Kayali Founder & Huda Beauty Co-Founder Mona Kattan Talks About Perfume". Beauty Packaging. April 27, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  31. ^ Butt, Maira (December 24, 2024). "Huda Beauty founder opens up about 'falling out' with close friend Eva Longoria". The Independent. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 3, 2025). "TikTok pulls video of Huda Kattan after beauty mogul spreads anti-Israel conspiracy theories | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  33. ^ "TikTok removes video by Huda Beauty boss over anti-Israel conspiracy theories". BBC News. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  34. ^ Riley, Grace (August 7, 2025). "Sephora Responds to Huda Beauty's Huda Kattan's Anti-Israel Scandal". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  35. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2023: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
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