Celebrity hairstylist Oribe Canales has died

18 December 2018

Celebrity hairstylist Oribe Canales has died.

Oribe Canales and Jennifer Lopez (c) Instagram

The legendary stylist has passed away at the age of 62 after suffering liver and kidney failure in hospital following cancer treatment last month.

The Cuban-born beauty expert was considered to be one of the most influential hairdressers in the industry, and he came to prominence in the 80s and 90s due to his work with the first wave of supermodels including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell, who were part of 'The Magnificent Seven' of the catwalk.

He then went on to work regularly with Jennifer Lopez, creating many of her most memorable styles over the course of two decade.

J.Lo took to Instagram to share a lengthy heartfelt post describing how she and the stylist started working together and thanking him for helping her become the actress and singer she is now.

Next to a photo of the pair, she wrote: "When I was 16 I was fascinated with Vogue magazine I would ride on the train and look at all the images of the supermodels and I was obsessed with the hair!! When I saw an image I loved I would check who did it and it was always someone named Oribe... Wow... he's amazing I would think!! Cut to years later I was making my first album. I started working with Benny Medina and he said to me we have to do an album cover shoot who do you want for hair and makeup... honestly I was so new to the industry I knew no one and remembered my time flipping thru those magazines on the 6 and said ummm Oribe and Kevin Aucoin... Benny laughed and said oh OK! The next 10 years I would spend with Oribe by my side in every waking and working moment.

"We fell in love with each other. We traveled the world together. And along with Scott Barnes they helped me blossom into JLO.

"It was a magical and exhausting time...And when I was tired he would say to me... 'You are gonna get up and go out there and be beautiful and fabulous bc that your job!!'

"We'd laugh bc that sounded crazy and then we would get to the business of doing our "job" !! He made me love the glam part of things.

"Bc he loved it so much and saw it as a powerful tool to empower women. He loved beauty and wanted women to feel beautiful and sexy. He loved the messiness and the imperfection and saw how interesting that was. He was a true artist.

"He made me feel special and beautiful for so long. I could go on and on but I will just say with a heavy heart... Thank you sweet, beautiful man... I will miss you. I love you Oribe... so much... (sic)"

Many other stars he worked with also used their social media accounts to remember Oribe.

Miley Cyrus posted on Instagram: "What they say is true ... my heart is in a thousand tiny pieces today ... can't catch my breath ... oh how I will miss my sweet friend @oribecanales Knowing I can't call you right now to laugh , to talk hair , to talk life ,to talk s**t, makes me shake in disbelief. Wish I could hug you , wish I could smell the familiar scent of when you walked in to a room. I'd do anything to tell you one more time how beautiful you make me feel ... I love you Oribe. & I Always will. (sic)"

Supermodel Cindy also used Instagram to pay tribute to her friend, posting a photo of the pair together with the caption: "Oribe - you will be missed! Your incredible talent, your charm and good looks and just enough bad boy to keep us all laughing!"

Celine Dion also shared a moving post to Oribe and insisted that working with the stylist had been a "great privilege".

She said: "So very sad to hear that Oribe has left us. Working with him was such a great privilege. He was such a kind person who always made me laugh, and he was an amazing hairstylist ... a true artist. I will cherish those memories forever, as will so many others. My heart goes out to his family and friends. (sic)"