Sharon Chuter, the founder of the inclusive makeup brand Uoma Beauty died on Aug. 14 according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s officer at the age of 38. Representatives for Chuter confirmed her death toThe Business of Beauty on Friday; the news was first reported by Kirbie Johnson’s Ahead of The Kirb newsletter.
Chuter founded Uoma Beauty in 2019, and the line was carried in the likes of Selfridges in the UK and Ulta Beauty in the US. The brand was known for its broad range of foundation, offering more than 50 shades, as well as Chuter’s activism for women of colour in the beauty industry. She started the “Pull Up or Shut Up” movement in 2020, calling on retailers and other beauty companies to publicly release the amount of Black employees they had in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
The brand’s assets were acquired by private equity firm MacArthur Beauty and the investor BrainTrust in late 2023. In February, she initiated a lawsuit against the two companies, alleging that its sale was unauthorised and had been below market value.
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