Chris-Tia Donaldson, the founder and CEO of the hair and skincare brand Thank God I’m Natural (TGIN), passed away on the evening of November 13 from complications due to her long battle with cancer. She was 42.
The news of Donaldson’s passing was confirmed in an Instagram video posted on November 14 by her niece and TGIN Finance & Human Resources Manager Aris Singleton.
“The entire TGIN family mourns this tremendous loss. No words can adequately express our sadness of her passing or the love we had for her,” said Singleton in the video post. “We will continue Chris-Tia’s legacy through our dedicated work with TGIN and TGIN foundation in the spirit of excellence, ensuring we continue to cultivate the community and mission she built with purpose, passion and love.”
Donaldson earned her A.B. in Economics from Harvard University with high honors and is a graduate of Harvard Law School, according to the bio on the TGIN website. Before launching the beauty brand, Donaldson was an attorney representing Fortune 500 companies, focusing on technology and open-source code and guiding businesses through complex transactions, the bio stated.
The lawyer-turned-beauty exec was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Donaldson later wrote a book about her journey, “This Is Only a Test: What Breast Cancer Taught Me About Faith, Love, Hair, and Business.” During her cancer treatments, she learned that having money could make the difference between living and dying when treating this condition, the bio said. This realization prompted her to launch the TGIN Foundation.
The entrepreneur leveraged her success in the beauty space to advocate for women experiencing financial difficulties, who are undergoing treatment, highlight health disparities due to race and socioeconomic factors, and empower women to listen to their bodies through the TGIN Foundation, the bio continued.
“Chris-Tia lived a life of service, she was a force to be reckoned with inside and outside the beauty community,” said Singleton. “Through her passion and purpose she redefined beauty and created a community of women empowerment, teaching the importance of advocating for ourselves, especially with our health.”
Despite this untimely passing, Singleton told OTC Beauty that Donaldson’s legacy would continue. “TGIN was her baby,” she said. “She told me, ‘just take care of my baby.’ And I believe she would want me to continue on with TGIN and grow it. We want TGIN to be a household name. We’re not going anywhere. We’re here to stay.”
Memorial details are pending.
For more information on Chris-Tia Donaldson, you can visit her website at christiadonaldson.com or the TGIN website, www.thankgoditsnatural.com.
To learn more about the TGIN Foundation or make a donation, visit tginfoundation.org/donate or use the following platforms:
- CashApp: $tginc4c
- Text to Give: C4CGIVE to 44-321
- C4C Donation Link: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/tgin-foundation/support-the-tgin-foundation-s-breast-cancer-fundraising-event
