Jen Atkin

Atkin moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19 to pursue hair with only $300 in her pocket.[2][7] Lorraine Schwartz helped Atkin when she first moved to LA.[3] In 2000, she began working as a receptionist at Estilo Salon in West Hollywood.[1] Later Atkin worked at the Chris McMillan and Andy LeCompte salons in Hollywood.[8] In 2006, Atkin was a member of the hair team for Madonna's Confessions Tour.[2] She also worked as a personal hairstylist for John Galliano.[2] While working for Galliano, Atkin traveled to Paris to work at fashion shows and made connections by talking herself into VIP lounges.[1]

Atkin frequently works with the stars of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, including styling their hair for the interview portions of the reality show. She met Kim through friends and began working with her in 2010 for a shoot for Cosmopolitan.[2] She met Khloe during the shoot, who asked her to create her looks for The X Factor, and eventually began working with the rest of the family.[8][2] She became friends with the Kardashians through this interaction and is featured on Kim Kardashian's video game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.[9] On several occasions, Atkin has collaborated with hairstylist and wigmaker Tokyo Stylez to complete looks for Kylie Jenner.

Since 2012, Atkin has traveled regularly to the Middle East, where she cuts hair at salons in Dubai, Bahrain, and Qatar.[8] Atkin's motivation for continuing to cut hair in the Middle East is that "There are not a lot of trained stylists in the Middle East who know how to do modern curls, or know how to really cut thick, coarse hair in a way that grows out nicely."[3] Occasionally, Atkin also cuts hair in Los Angeles at Andy LeCompte Salon, where her appointments cost upwards of $600.[5] Atkin is well known on Instagram, and credits her social media marketing skills to scrapbooking during her childhood.[7] She released a hair accessories collection called Jen Atkin X Chloe + Isabel.[7]

Her first book, Blowing My Way to the Top, will be published by Harper Collins in December, 2020.[10]

Atkin was born in Utah, but spent her childhood between the North Shore of Oahu and St. George, Utah. She was raised a Mormon[2][5] At the age of 19, she moved to Los Angeles with her best friend to pursue hair.[2] She had only $300 and a Honda Civic at the time.[7] Atkin is also adopted and recently found out her real ethnic background through 23 and me DNA test.

Atkin dated director and photographer Mike Rosenthal for five years before they were engaged. They had never discussed marriage prior to his proposal on a vacation in Greece.[9] They married in 2016 at the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, which is where Rosenthal took her on their first date. They were in Paris attending another wedding when they decided to elope. Atkin, Rosenthal, and the officiant were the only people in attendance.[9] When they returned to the United States, they had a small ceremony at a courthouse with 40 family members and friends in attendance. All of the wedding guests wore white, while Atkin and Rosenthal wore black.

Together, Atkin and Rosenthal have two dogs and no children.[3][9] Atkin has stated that she and Rosenthal are focused on their careers, but do want children "one day." They have spoken openly about their decision to freeze their embryos.[7] They live on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, although she often splits her time between Los Angeles and New York[7][5] Atkin considers herself to be a feminist.[9]

• 2015 Stylemaker of the Year[2]

• Jen Atkin at IMDb
• Official website