Huda Heidi Kattan (born October 2, 1983) is an American makeup artist, beauty blogger and entrepreneur.[1][2][3][4] She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty.
Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,[5] as one of four children.[6] Her parents are both from Iraq.[5]
In 2006, Kattan moved to Dubai with her father because he accepted a job opportunity as a professor in the emirate.[6][7] A few years later, Kattan moved to Los Angeles, where she studied makeup.[3][5][7][10] Among her clients were celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie.[5] Kattan then returned to Dubai where she became employed by Revlon as a makeup artist.[3][6] In April 2010, upon the advice of one of her sisters, Kattan started a beauty-related WordPress blog which she named "Huda Beauty" on which she would post makeup tutorials and tips.[5][6][7][8][11]
In 2013, Kattan founded a cosmetics line which, like her blog, is also called "Huda Beauty."[1][6][7][8][12] Her first product, a series of false eyelashes,[6][7] was released through Sephora.[8][13]
Huda's company, which is based in Dubai, later began to offer other beauty products, including eye shadow palettes, liquid lipsticks, lip liners, highlighter palettes, foundations, concealers, baking powders and liquid eyeshadows.[3][6][7][10][12][13]
Kattan achieved popularity on Instagram, attaining more than 54 million followers as of 2025.[1][2][6][10][13][14] Kattan is ranked #1 on the "2017 Influencer Instagram Rich List", earning $18,000 for each post of sponsored content.[6][15] Kattan has been described as "a Kim Kardashian of the beauty influencer economy",[7]
In 2018, Kattan began starring in her own original Facebook Watch reality series entitled Huda Boss,[19] alongside her family.
In 2021, Kattan participated in a campaign to provide food and donated one million meals through her cosmetics company Huda Beauty.[20]
Through her cosmetics brand, Huda Beauty, Kattan has participated in various philanthropic efforts. In June 2020, Kattan announced that Huda Beauty will donate $500,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.[21]
In 2021, Kattan and Huda Beauty started a petition for beauty brands to disclose when they've retouched or edited their images or videos, to help dismantle "toxic" social media beauty standards.[22] Through her beauty brand, she has also supported the Asian American community,[23] Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and food drive initiatives such as 100 Million Meals.[24] Kattan has also used her social media platforms to support Palestine in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[25] In May 2021, Kattan and her company, Huda Beauty donated $100,000 to Help India Breathe, a COVID-19 relief fundraiser launched by former monk Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhika Devlukia-Shetty.[26]
In November 2023, Kattan donated $1 million to two humanitarian organizations working in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders and Human Appeal.[27][28]
In high school, Kattan met her husband, Christopher Goncalo, who is of Portuguese heritage.[29] The couple moved to Dubai in 2006, got married in June 2009, and had their first child in 2011.[6] Kattan is Muslim.[8]
One of Kattan's sisters is her business partner, Mona; while another sister manages Kattan's social media, Alya.[7] Mona Kattan, in addition to being the co-founder of Huda Beauty, is the founder of Kayali fragrances. Huda is the face of the makeup brand, while Mona is focusing on her perfume brand.[30]
Kattan was a friend of actress Eva Longoria for over ten years. However, in 2024 they had a falling out over Longoria's continuing support of Israel amid the Gaza war.[31]
In July 2025, Kattan posted a video to TikTok in support of antisemitic conspiracy theories claiming that Jews and Israel were behind World Wars I and II, the September 11 attacks, and the October 7 attacks.[32][33] The video was then taken down by TikTok,[32] while French cosmetics retailer Sephora pledged to carry out an investigation regarding the event and their partnership with Kattan.[34]
In January 2026, amid the 2025–2026 Iranian protests and the 2026 Iran massacres, Kattan faced backlash after posting a pro-Iranian regime propaganda video showing pro-Islamic Republic protesters burning images of the Iranian opposition, leading to a boycott campaign of her products.[35][36][37][38]
