Obituaries

OBIT: Paula Kent Meehan, Co-Founder of Redken, Promoter of All Things Beverly Hills

She died today at age 82.

Originally posted at 7:23 p.m. June 23, 2014. Edited to fix a typo.

Businesswoman and philanthropist Paula Kent Meehan, co-founder of the Redken hair care products line and the recent buyer of the Beverly Hills Courier, died today at age 82.

The Courier reported that Meehan died at her Beverly Hills home around midday.

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"Paula was a dear friend and a terrific mentor for me and I will sincerely miss the opportunity to continue working with her closely," Courier President/Publisher Marcia Hobbs said in a story posted on the paper's website. "It will be difficult to continue on without her, but we will work hard to carry out the vision Paula had for The Courier when she purchased it."

Meehan co-founded Redken in 1960 after working as an actress, saying she wanted to create less-irritating hair-care products. She started the company with $3,000 she earned by appearing in a Hamm's beer commercial. The company was purchased by L'Oreal in 1993.

Find out what's happening in Beverly Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She was known for her charitable work, donating $5 million to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. She was also a major supporter of the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden. She also opened a pet rescue organization known as Pets 90210 -- The Pet Care Foundation.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich called Meehan a "titan in her industry, a role model for entrepreneurs and a prolific philanthropist whose impact will be felt for generations."

"She was committed to the city of Beverly Hills and recently purchased the Courier to continue to paper's work serving the city's residents as its trusted source for information," Antonovich said.

Meehan also served on the board of directors of Union Bank of California and led her own investment company. She purchased the Courier in May.

After buying the Courier, she published a short note in the paper, saying her "purpose will always be to promote our wonderful city, and to present our readers with quality information keeping everyone up to date on current events, news and always with exceptional photos."

She wrote that the city "holds a very special place in my heart."

"Simply put, I love it here," she wrote. "I feel very blessed to live here and that is the primary reason I wanted to become the new owner of the Beverly Hills Courier."

The Beverly Hills City Council, led by Mayor Lili Bosse, plans to honor Meehan with a moment of silence during its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

There was no immediate word on funeral services.

--City News Service


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