Simone Tata, the visionary business leader who transformed Lakmé into India’s most iconic cosmetics brand and pioneered modern fashion retail through Westside, passed away peacefully on Friday morning at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital after a brief illness. The revered matriarch of the Tata family, stepmother to the late Ratan Tata and mother to current Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, was 95 years old.

The Tata Group confirmed that her final rites will be conducted on Saturday morning at the Cathedral of the Holy Name in Colaba, with the family receiving condolences at the church. In a heartfelt statement, the conglomerate paid tribute to her extraordinary legacy, describing her as the driving force who elevated Lakmé from a small subsidiary into a household name and laid the cornerstone for organised fashion retail in India through the establishment of the Westside chain.

Born Simone Naval Dunoyer in Geneva, Switzerland, she first arrived in India as a tourist in 1953 and fell in love with the country. Two years later, she married Naval H. Tata, son of JRD Tata’s adoptive mother, and formally entered the Tata fold. Joining the board of Lakmé in 1961 when it was still a modest operation under Tata Oil Mills Company, she assumed chairmanship in 1982 and earned the enduring title “Cosmetic Czarina of India” for her pioneering role in making beauty products aspirational and accessible to generations of Indian women.

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Beyond her monumental contributions to business, Simone Tata devoted significant energy to philanthropy, serving on the boards of several Tata charitable institutions, including the Sir Ratan Tata Institute, where she guided initiatives focused on education, healthcare, and women’s empowerment. The Tata Group remembered her as a woman of remarkable positivity, quiet strength, and deep resolve who overcame numerous personal and professional challenges while profoundly touching countless lives.

She is survived by her son Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts and Trent Limited; daughter-in-law Aloo Mistry; and grandchildren Neville, Maya, and Leah. The group concluded its tribute with prayers for her soul to rest in eternal peace and for strength to the family during this period of profound loss.

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