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Estee Lauder, born Josephine Esther Mentzer in Queens, New York, grew up in a traditional Italian neighborhood and was exposed to various cultural backgrounds. Her uncle, a chemist, made skin creams from natural ingredients, inspiring Estee to perfect and market her own skincare cream. She married Joseph Lauter, changed their name to Lauder, and focused on marketing while he managed the cosmetics factory. Estee Lauder became a $10 billion dollar business and received numerous accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died in 2004 at the age of 97, leaving the company to her son, Leonard.
Estee Lauder has been an icon in the beauty industry for decades, especially in relation to quality perfumes and makeup products for women. The woman behind the name was honored by Time magazine as one of the 20 most influential people in business of the 20th century in 1998 and she was the only woman to make the list. Eventually, Estee Lauder would grow into a $10 billion dollar business. However, that business had humble beginnings, as did Estee Lauder itself.
Born in 1906 in the Corona section of Queens in New York City, Estee was born as Josephine Esther Mentzer. Growing up in a traditional Italian neighborhood, Estee was exposed to a variety of cultural backgrounds and values. Her father, Max Mentzer, was a Czechoslovakian who eventually gave up his tailoring trade to open a hardware store. Her mother, Rose (Schotz Rosenthal), was of French and Hungarian ancestry. While Rose was a Catholic, Estee was raised in her Jewish father’s faith.
It may have been Estee’s mother who sparked an early interest in skincare since she warned her daughter to always protect her skin from the sun. While Estee followed this advice, she was embarrassed that her mother always wore gloves and carried a parasol. Indeed, she Estee was slightly embarrassed by her parents’ ethnic language and mannerisms and was determined to achieve an all-American identity.
Working in her father’s hardware store gave Estee invaluable experience in merchandising and customer service, two traits that would become synonymous with the Estee Lauder name. However, it was her uncle, John Shotz, who changed the future course of the girl who would one day be known as Estee Lauder. A chemist, John made skin creams from natural ingredients in a back room of his parents’ lodgings above the family hardware store. In fact, it was one such simple formula that Estee would later perfect and market. Although the business didn’t officially launch until 1946, Estee debuted its first skincare cream in New York City during the Depression.
At age 19, Estee met Joseph Lauter, whom she would later marry in 1930 and again in 1942, after divorcing him in 1939. The reconciliation led to a successful marriage and business partnership. In fact, Joseph quit his job to take care of the cosmetics factory and financial matters, leaving Estee free to focus on the marketing side of the business. In the late 1930s, the couple decided to change the Lauter name to Lauder.
Since those early days, the Estee Lauder name has been associated with many other successes and accolades as well as securing a large chunk of the cosmetics industry. For example, Estee Lauder herself was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a civilian in the United States. She was also awarded the French Insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. A devoted philanthropist, Estee has supported several charities, a tradition the family continues to follow.
After more than 40 years, the woman who became known for her ingenious marketing strategy of giving away free samples has handed the reins of the company over to her son, Leonard. At the age of 97, Estee Lauder died of cardiopulmonary arrest in her Manhattan home on April 24, 2004.
