Life and career

Brown was born in Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in the 1969. Brown is best known for his work with celebrities including Kate Moss

Kate Moss

Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...

. Brown is a monarchist; in 2006, he said: "I ... wear a suit and a hat every day. Prince Charles is the best-dressed man in the world."

In 1994 he did his first Vogue Cover with Kate Moss shot by Corinne Day
He is also a TV Personality on E4 Supermodel Salon and E4’s Great British Hairdresser with Jo Elvin editor of Glamour and Abbey Clancy.
He also has a hair product range - Photo Fabulous - that has been available in Boots sine 2007.

Brown grew up near Croydon in the 1970s. His introduction to hairdressing came early when he landed his first job in a Croydon salon at the age of 15 and where he first encountered schoolgirl Kate Moss. The early days were spent hanging out at the salon together.

Moving into London, Brown completed his apprenticeship at Zoo in Covent Garden, before moving onto influential salon of the times 'Brinks and Huck' where he began to make a name for himself as a session hairdresser for style magazines i-D and The Face, until everything catapulted forward when James and Kate were booked to shoot their debut Vogue cover in 1992 with photographer Corrine Day. Kate was just 17 and James 22 - the youngest ever hairdresser to earn a career distinction some session stylists spend their entire working life trying to achieve.

Aged 24, he re-located to New York to pursue his freelance career, immediately landing prestigious campaigns for Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. In the ensuing 10 years James spent a nomadic existence working between New York, LA and London working on countless high profile fashion shoots, campaigns and catwalk shows as the demand grew for his innovative and signature hairdressing style - which James often refers to as 'rock 'n roll Bardot'.

In 2005 he made London his permanent base once more to focus on building his own haircare brand James Brown London, which became the fastest selling haircare range in Boots in 2009. In the same year he was profiled in an E4 TV documentary James Brown's Supermodel Salon and became a regular style contributor to Glamour magazine, whilst continuing to work regularly with Clients including Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Lily Allen, Anne Hathaway, Liv Tyler, Diane Kruger and Emma Watson.

Brown appeared on Channel 4's Great British Hairdresser and also on Stephen Fry’s 100 Best Gadgets in 2011.

Charity Work

Brown raised £30,000 as an avid campaigner for Cancer Research. He has been personally affected having lost two sisters to the disease - Noelleen in 1986 and Marina in 2007.

Racial abuse

At the 2011 Bafta Television Awards ceremony in London,at the Grosvenor House Hotel

Grosvenor House Hotel

Grosvenor House is a large and luxurious hotel. The iconic Mayfair, London hotel is owned by the Sahara Group. The name has also been licensed to a property in Dubai....

, Brown was involved in a racial abuse misunderstanding. Following the incident, Brown issued an apology: “I’d like to make a public apology to Mr Douglas, to his friends and to Bafta for my offensive and stupid comments. The simple truth is that I had drunk far too much on the evening and my behaviour was totally unacceptable.". Ben Douglas is the director of a children's threatre.
Douglas was quoted as saying: “He thought he was being fashionable.... I believe they call it ‘street’.”