Huda Kattan | |
|---|---|
 Huda in 2019 | |
| Born | October 2, 1983 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan–Dearborn |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2010–present |
| Website | hudabeauty |
Huda Kattan (born October 2, 1983) is an Iraqi American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. [1] [2] [3] She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty. [1]
Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, [4] as one of four children. [5] Her parents are both from Iraq. [4] The family later moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, and then to Dartmouth, Massachusetts. [6] Kattan attended the University of Michigan–Dearborn where she majored in finance. [4] [5] [7] After not having much success in her finance job, Huda quit and became a makeup artist. [8]
In 2006, Kattan moved to Dubai with her father because he accepted a job opportunity as a teacher in the emirate. [5] [6] A few years later, Kattan moved to Los Angeles, where she studied makeup. [3] [4] [6] [9] Among her clients were celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie. [4] Kattan then returned to Dubai where she became employed by Revlon as a makeup artist. [3] [5] 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. [4] [5] [6] [7] [10]
In 2013, Kattan founded a cosmetics line which, like her blog, is also called "Huda Beauty." [1] [5] [6] [7] [11] Her first product, a series of false eyelashes, [5] [6] was released through Sephora. [7] [12] The Huda Beauty label achieved success with the sales of the false eyelashes, which were famously worn by Kim Kardashian. [7]
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] [5] [6] [9] [11] [12]
Kattan achieved popularity on Instagram, attaining more than 54 million followers as of 2025. [1] [2] [5] [9] [12] [13] Kattan is ranked #1 on the "2017 Influencer Instagram Rich List", earning $18,000 for each post of sponsored content. [5] [14] Kattan has been described as "a Kim Kardashian of the beauty influencer economy", [6] and was declared one of the "ten most powerful influencers in the world of beauty" by Forbes magazine. [15] She was chosen as one of "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet" by Time magazine in 2017. [5] [13] 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. [16] 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]
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 share her opinion on the Gaza-Israel war. [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 $1,000,000 to two humanitarian organizations in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders and Human Appeal. [27] [28]
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. [5] Kattan is Muslim. [7] One of Kattan's sisters is her business partner, Mona; while another sister manages Kattan's social media, Alya. [6] 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]
In November 2023, Kattan was named to the BBC's 100 Women list. [32]