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George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-39153)
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Dec. 25, 1870, KrakĂłw, Poland, Austria-Hungary
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April 1, 1965, New York, N.Y., U.S.
Helena Rubinsteinwas a cosmetician, business executive, and philanthropist. She founded Helena Rubinstein, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of womenâs cosmetics.
Rubinstein was one of eight daughters of a middle-class Jewish family in Poland. She studied medicine briefly in Switzerland before journeying in the late 1890s to visit relatives in Australia. There, the lack of cosmetics, particularly skin-care products, prompted her to open a small shop in Melbourne to sell creams and the like, which at first she imported from Europe and later began manufacturing herself. She then returned to Europe and studied dermatology with several leading authorities before resuming her business. In 1908 she opened an elaborate beauty salon in London and in 1912 another in Paris. From the beginning her clientele consisted of wealthy and aristocratic women, many of whom broke social custom in patronizing her salons. In 1914 she opened a salon in New York City, and over the next several years salons appeared as well in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and other American cities. From that date she spent an increasing portion of her time in the United States.
In 1917 Rubinstein began the wholesale distribution of her products, an enterprise that, together with manufacturing, was eventually to become the predominant activity of her business. The chemists and researchers whom she employed developed hundreds of new and improved beauty aids, among which were the first line of medicated skin-care products. In the years that followed World War II she established manufacturing facilities on five continents.
With a personal fortune estimated at $100 million, Rubinstein was prominent in international society and maintained homes in cities around the world. A patron of the arts, she established the Helena Rubinstein Foundation in 1953 to coordinate her philanthropies, including gifts to museums, colleges, and institutions for the needy, particularly women and children.
