Marilyn Miglin, the queen of the Home Shopping Network’s beauty counter, died Monday at age 83.
“She was at home and surrounded by her family,” reads a statement on her website. “She will be greatly missed by all who knew her but her spirit will stay with all of us.”
Miglin, who was born in the Czech Republic, grew up in Chicago, launching her cosmetics empire in 1963 and eventually expanding it to more than 35 fragrances, including her signature smell, Pheromone.
For 25 years, she hocked her wares on the Home Shopping Network, selling her goods to more than 65 million viewers.
Miglin is considered one of the top women business owners in the country and Marilyn Miglin Cosmetics has been valued at $50 million.
At home in Chicago, Miglin also made a name for herself as a philanthropist, co-founding the University of Illinois’ advisory board for the Craniofacial Center to help facially disfigured and burn survivors and founding the Women of Destiny program, which connects Chicago professionals to young women in the same industry.
Miglin’s husband, Lee, was murdered in 1997 by Andrew Cunanan, who went on to kill fashion designer Gianni Versace two months later. Judith Light played Miglin in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
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