Simone Tata, a pioneering business leader who shaped India’s beauty and fashion retail landscape, passed away on Friday morning at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital after a brief illness. She was 95.

Simone Tata was the mother of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and the stepmother of the late Ratan Tata. A key figure in the Tata Group’s consumer business expansion, she was widely regarded for transforming Lakmé into India’s best-known cosmetics brand and later laying the foundation for Trent Ltd., which operates the Westside retail chain.

In a statement, the Tata Group said last respects will be offered on Saturday morning at the Cathedral of the Holy Name Church in Colaba.

“She will always be remembered for her contribution to the growth of Lakmé as India’s leading cosmetic brand and for laying the foundation for fashion retail with the Westside chain. She also guided the work of many philanthropic organisations, including the Sir Ratan Tata Institute,” a Tata Group spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement added, “With her positivity and deep resolve, she overcame many challenges in her life while touching many of us deeply. May her soul rest in peace, and may God give us the strength to overcome this loss.”

She is survived by her son, Noel Tata; daughter-in-law, Aloo Mistry; and grandchildren, Neville, Maya, and Leah.

Born as Simone Naval Dunoyer in Geneva, Switzerland, she first arrived in India in 1953. Two years later, she married Naval H. Tata and soon began her professional journey with the Tata Group in the early 1960s.

Simone Tata joined the board of Lakmé in 1961, then a small subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO), known for personal care products such as Hamam, Okay and Modi Soaps. Her strategic vision transformed Lakmé into a leading national brand. Appointed chairperson in 1982, she earned the title “Cosmetic Czarina of India” for popularising beauty products among Indian women and helping build one of the country’s earliest modern consumer brands.