With her flamboyant personality, very public stance against multinational corporations and outspoken opinions on traditional stereotypes of attractiveness, Roddick will be remembered as a maverick in the world of beauty.
—- WWD.com

Anita Roddick died on Monday and for the second time in my life, a public figure’s death touched me and I mourned. Roddick may not be Mother Theresa but she’s certainly an inspiration to women around the globe. Her death meant losing a powerful and credible role model for our children.

Roddick is the founder of Body Shop and she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C which she caught from a blood transfusion upon giving birth. I don’t really know much about her. I don’t have any of her books. I’m not a regular customer in her shop. But from the little news and history that I learnt since coming to London, I can’t help but be amazed by how much she has accomplished & how much she managed to give back to society. I know this is superficial I also liked looking at her pictures and more than once I told my husband that I want to grow old like her: gracious and always simple but elegant. Truly classy like a modern day Audrey Hepburn in her greying years.

For most of us still living & breathing, especially those struggling to do the right thing or to “make it”, Roddick‘s life can still inspire us to persevere, to stay focused, and to challenge the norm if it meant staying true to what you believe in. She’s truly one a kind. God Bless her soul.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 8:16 am and is filed under consumer issues, death, news, women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.