Sharon Chuter, the founder of the inclusive makeup brand Uoma Beauty passed away on Aug. 14.
According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s officer, Chuter passed away at the age of 38. The news of her death was confirmed by The Business of Beauty. Her death is listed as deferred, which means it is still under investigation.
Chuter founded Uoma Beauty in 2019. The line debuted at Ulta with more than 100 products, including a foundation range spanning 51 shades—an early statement that diversity and representation were non-negotiable in her work.
The brand was known for its broad range of foundation and Chuter’s activism for women of colour in the beauty industry. She started the “Pull Up or Shut Up” movement in 2020, calling on retailers and other beauty companies to publicly release the amount of Black employees they had in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
What started as a 72-hour Instagram campaign expanded into a permanent educational platform.
As RollingOut reports, Chuter’s Pull Up for Change initiative alongside the viral #PullUpOrShutUp campaign marked a pivotal moment in 2020. The bold strategy gave major beauty companies exactly 72 hours to publicly reveal the percentage of Black employees in their corporate and leadership positions.
- Glossier, e.l.f. Cosmetics and MAC Cosmetics were among the first major brands to participate in the transparency initiative.
- The campaign encouraged consumers to boycott companies that refused to disclose their staffing demographics.
- Chuter’s approach combined grassroots activism with strategic business pressure, forcing industry-wide conversations about representation.
During a 2022 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Chuter explained her motivation for creating such disruptive campaigns. She emphasized her inability to remain silent when witnessing systemic inequalities, particularly regarding economic opportunities for Black professionals within the beauty space.
Health
Though Chuter stepped down as Uoma’s CEO in 2023 to prioritize her health, she remained a shareholder and mentor. “I started my 2023 in the hospital in mid-Jan. I lost 10kgs in one week, doctors thought it may be stomach cancer but luckily it wasn’t.” She added, “I’ve been pouring into others, now it’s time to pour into me.
Her last Instagram post in May showed her still onstage, doing what she did best: inspiring others. Alongside a photo of her speaking onstage at a beauty event, she wrote “Doing what I do!”