Famed make-up artist Paul P. Starr recently died of apparent natural causes at his home in the Echo Park district northwest of Downtown, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.
Starr worked with many of Hollywood’s top movie actors, music personalities and supermodels, a list that spanned generations of stars, from Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston to Jane Fonda, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Starr also teamed up with some of the most influential photographers of his time, including Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, and Richard Avedon. His work as a make-up artist played a role in large-scale advertising campaigns for such brands as Prada, Chanel, Lancome, Calvin Klein and Victoria's Secret.
Starr also collaborated with a range of commercial, feature-film and video directors, including Tim Burton, David Fincher and Spike Lee, according to his biography. He became the first makeup artist to work in-house with cosmetics giant Estee Lauder in 2002.
Starr also found time to write and publish. He authored a book called “Paul Starr on Beauty: Conversations With Thirty Celebrated Women.” He also served as the founding beauty editor of Flaunt magazine from 1998 to 2001.
Authorities found Starr dead at his residence on the 2200 block of Lake Shore Avenue at approximately 10:30 a.m. on August 19, according to Ed Winter, an assistant chief coroner. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers discovered Starr after they received a request to check on the health and welfare of the 51-year-old.
Winter said that an autopsy remained pending, as of presstime, and added that a preliminary investigation offered no indications that any injury or previously known medical problem contributed to Starr’s death.
