Who co-founded The Estée Lauder Companies with Joseph Lauder in 1946?

Estée Lauder co-founded The Estée Lauder Companies with her husband, Joseph Lauder, in 1946.

The business began in New York with a small product range: cleansing oil, skin lotion, Super-Rich All-Purpose Creme, and Creme Pack. Estée Lauder was the company’s visionary sales and marketing force, personally demonstrating products and building relationships with customers, while Joseph Lauder handled much of the financial and operational side.

A common mistake is to confuse the company’s founder with later family leaders such as Leonard Lauder, Estée and Joseph’s son. The company’s name refers to Estée, whose birth name was Josephine Esther Mentzer; “Estée Lauder” was the professional name she used.

The company secured its first department-store account at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1948 and later expanded internationally. It eventually became a major beauty group whose portfolio included brands such as Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Aveda.