Respected British make-up artist Pat McGrath has become the first woman in her industry to be awarded a damehood in the Queen’s New Year honours list.
The founder of Pat McGrath Labs and pioneering creative was recognised for her services to fashion, beauty and diversity, and will become a Dame of the British Empire.
She joins British icons Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Emma Thompson who have also been honoured by the Queen.
Responding to the news of her honour, McGrath said on her Instagram channel that she was “beyond humbled” by the decision.
“Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would recognize me to be amongst the incredible recipients of this honour both past and present.
“When I first launched my brand, Pat McGrath Labs, it was designed to inspire self-expression and individuality.”
She went on to dedicate her damehood to all make-up artists.
“I adore each and every one of you” she added.
The celebrated make-up artist was named in Time magazine’s Top 100 influential people list in 2019 and was dubbed by Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who also received a damehood from Queen Elizabeth in 2017, as “the most influential make-up artist in the world”.
She has dusted and blended for some of the world’s most distinguished runways, publications and faces, including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian.
The self-proclaimed cosmetics addict’s eponymous beauty brand also became Selfridges’ “biggest and most successful launch ever”, according to its Buying and Merchandise Director Sebastian Manes, with one product sold every 40 seconds.
The in-store success of the brand’s ‘Mothership’ pop-up landed the brand a permanent concession at the retailer’s Oxford Street store just two months after its launch.
