He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Mary Quant and film stars such as Mia Farrow, Goldie Hawn, Cameron Diaz, Nastassja Kinski and Helen Mirren.

After developing a reputation for his innovative cuts, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, where he opened the first worldwide chain of hairstyling salons, complemented by a line of hair-treatment products.

In 2012, he was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork, the album cover for the Beatles' Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, to celebrate the British cultural figures of the prior six decades.

[5] Sassoon was born to Jewish parents in Hammersmith, West London, and lived nearby in Shepherd's Bush.

After one session of mental arithmetic, his master said teasingly, "Sassoon, it is a pleasure to see that you have gaps of intelligence between bouts of ignorance.

During work hours, he said "I got used to seeing bodies and blood, and hearing cries of agony" as he carried messages from central London to the docks.

"[7][12][13] When she took him to the hairdressing school of a well-known stylist, Adolph Cohen, they were disappointed immediately when they were told it was a two-year programme and would cost much more than they could afford.

[7] At the age of 17, although he had been too young to serve in World War II, he became the youngest member of the 43 Group, a Jewish veterans' underground organisation founded by Morris Beckman which broke up fascist meetings in East London[14][15] to prevent Sir Oswald Mosley's movement from spreading "messages of hatred" in the period following World War II.

[18] Sassoon opened his first salon in 1954 in London;[19] singer-actress Georgia Brown, his friend and neighbour, claimed to be his first customer.

[20] Sassoon stated his intentions in designing new, more efficient, hair styles: "If I was going to be in hairdressing, I wanted to change things.

The hairstyles created by Sassoon relied on dark, straight, and shiny hair cut into geometric yet organic shapes.

Advertising and cosmetics executive Natalie Donay is credited with discovering Sassoon in London and bringing him to the United States,[24] where in 1965, he opened his first New York City salon on Madison Avenue.

[25] In 1966, inspired by 1920s film star Clara Bow's close cropped hair, he created designs for Emanuel Ungaro.

Director Roman Polanski brought him to Hollywood from London in 1968, at a cost of $5,000 (equivalent to $44,000 in 2023), to create a unique pixie cut for Mia Farrow, who was to star in Rosemary's Baby.

[27] The actor Michael Caine, who when young and struggling "was roommates with Terence Stamp and Vidal Sassoon – he used to cut my hair, and he always had a lot of models around",[28] claimed to have inspired this, saying, "I told him that he must have something that is working for him while he slept.

[4] The El Paso, Texas-based Helen of Troy Corporation began manufacturing and marketing Sassoon hair-care products in 1980.

Sassoon, who remained a consultant through at least the mid-1990s,[33] sued P&G in 2003 for breach of contract and fraud in federal court for allegedly neglecting the marketing of his brand name in favour of the company's other hair product lines, such as Pantene.

Sassoon was twice a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, on 27 June 1970[35] and 9 October 2011, when he was also Resident Thinker on the Nowhereisland art project.

[37] Sassoon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

[39] They had three biological children and one adopted son, including[40] daughter Catya[41][42][25][43][44][45] Sassoon and Adams divorced after 13 years of marriage.

After selling his company, he worked towards philanthropic causes such as the Boys Clubs of America and the Performing Arts Council of the Music Center of Los Angeles via his Vidal Sassoon Foundation.

At the time of his death, he had academies in England, Canada and the United States, while planning to open locations in Germany and China.

"[4] Neil Cornelius, the incumbent owner of Sassoon's first solo venture, called him a "hairdressing legend".