Passion or Profession: Cosmetics Entrepreneur

Period: 1878–1966

Arden was born Florence Nightingale Graham and, following the career of her namesake, studied nursing. But in 1907, she moved to New York City and opened a salon. She took on the name Elizabeth Arden, also calling her new company by the same name. Arden became involved in producing cosmetics on a large scale, bringing a scientific approach to production. By the time of her death, she had a large cosmetics company, a fashion house, and more than 100 salons worldwide.