John Barrett, the celebrity hair stylist, has died. He was 66.

The reason for death was blood cancer, Julianne Jaffe, a detailed friend of Barrett’s in addition to his health proxy, confirmed in an announcement.

Barrett was well-known for running the salon space at Bergdorf Goodman for greater than twenty years. His clients ranged from Princess Diana and Hillary Clinton to Martha Stewart and the Olsen twins. 

“John was friend and a unbelievable hairdresser,” Stewart said via email. “We’ll miss him sorely.”

“John was someone who had every politician, celebrity, every incredible client that got here to Bergdorf Goodman; people still reference his legendary service and first-class hands today,” said Melissa Xides, Bergdorf Goodman’s chief retail officer. “He was at Bergdorf Goodman for 20 years, which was legendary, and he gave sublime service to all of his clients. He has a legacy of that. Our hearts exit and we extend our sympathy to him and his family and his team right now.”

Frédéric Fekkai, who worked with Barrett when his own salon held the Bergdorf Goodman space, lauded Barrett’s ability to construct a team and his technical know-how within the styling realm.

“We worked together, he worked for me after I had the salon at Bergdorf Goodman, after which he took it over after I left, and regardless that we were competitive, we were all the time respectful of one another. He has done some remarkable things within the industry and within the salon business,” Fekkai said. “He has built an incredible team and an incredible name for himself. I loved the indisputable fact that he was a superb stylist in a classic and modern way, and he was proving to himself to be entrepreneur as well.”

Barrett departed the Bergdorf Goodman space in 2019 to open his own salon on 57th Street. That followed previous expansion plans that never got here to fruition. Last yr, Barrett kicked off a partnership with luxury condo constructing 53 West 53, whose residents gained priority access to Barrett’s salon.

William Norwich, journalist and a friend of Barrett’s, recalled the stylist’s upbringing in Limerick, Ireland. Barrett moved to London within the ’70s, where he learned to chop hair. From there, he relocated to Los Angeles and back to London before heading to Recent York within the ’90s. 

“John also gave numerous parties and his social circle was visiting British actors. The primary time I went to his house was a dinner he gave for Dame Eileen Atkins, and it was a dizzying, different world than Park Avenue or downtown and he was very, very funny,” Norwich said. 

Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller remembered meeting Barrett within the Hamptons many years ago, adding that Barrett later became a godparent to 2 of his children. “He was friends with my partner, Joshua Lehrer, and he was sitting outside my little shack within the Hamptons at 7:45 within the morning,” he said of their first introduction. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

“John had a knack for all the time being present. He was present at our most joyous events, and he was there holding us up at our saddest events,” Seller continued. “He was there when friends died, and he was there at my mother’s eightieth birthday celebration. That’s the true nature of friendship and family.”

Norwich added that Barrett had been sober for many years, and that “he was an enormous support to individuals who were attempting to get themselves sober over the past few years. That might be a giant a part of his legacy.”