Matrix Founder Sydell Miller Dies at 86

Emily Burns
·2 min read
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Matrix founder Sydell Miller died at home on Feb. 25 at age 86. A service was held for Miller on Thursday.

Miller and her late husband Arnold Miller, whom she married in 1958, founded false lash brand Ardell, a combination of their first names, in 1971 and then professional hair care company Matrix Essentials Inc. in 1980. Matrix is now part of L’Oréal USA’s Professional Products Division. The Millers sold Ardell to Zvi Ryzman, the owner and president of American International Industries, in 1983 to focus on Matrix.

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The duo’s passion for beauty is what first brought them together. According to the family’s obituary, Arnold, who was a hair stylist at the time, asked Sydell out on a date while she was sitting in his salon chair. A week later, they were engaged.

Over the course of their marriage the duo pursued an array of business opportunities. Aside from Ardell and Matrix, they also created a henna hair product called Hennalucent.

Following her husband’s death in 1992, Miller became president and chief executive officer of Matrix, doubling the brand’s revenues and ultimately selling it to Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1994. L’Oréal purchased the company in 2000. After retiring from her position as chairman of the board at Matrix in 1996, she went on to act on the board of Aquage, a hair care line started by her brother.

In addition to her work in the beauty industry, Miller was committed to philanthropy centered around health care, female empowerment and her Jewish faith. She funded the Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell & Arnold Miller Family Pavilion, home to the Sydell & Arnold Miller Heart and Vascular Institute, in 2005; was a member of the Cleveland Clinic’s Board of Trustees, and was a committed donor to the Park Synagogue in Cleveland, among several other charitable projects. As previously reported by WWD, Miller was also an avid art collector.

For both her beauty and charitable efforts, Miller received a slew of awards throughout her lifetime, including Working Women Magazine’s top 50 women business owners in America. She was also the first non-hairdresser appointed to the National Cosmetology Association’s Hall of Fame.

Miller is survived by her children Lauren Spilman (Steve) and Stacie Halpern (Jeff); her brother Dennis Lubin (Barbara), and her grandchildren Alana and Max Spilman, Lindsey and Austin Halpern, Jarrod (Ana) and Evan Lubin, as well as her great grandchildren, Alejandra, Victoria and Valentina.

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