A popular make-up artist died after a brave battle with bowel cancer. Irene Roozbayani, 41, died on November 7 after being diagnosed with an insidious disease earlier this year. Tragically, stage four cancer was already in her body by the time she was diagnosed, Chronicle Live reported. According to the journal, Irene underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and continued to work even as her condition worsened because she did not want to disappoint her clients.
Many kind words from her friends have been added to the Instagram profile of the make-up artist, who was nicknamed the “Persian Cheryl Cole” by her friends because of her resemblance to the singer. “Thank you to everyone who was a part of Irene’s journey, she loved each and every one of you and would have appreciated all your love. “Sleep in peace Roozy, we love you,” wrote those closest to her in a touching post announcing her death on Instagram.
“Irene was very generous and cheerful and always liked to make people laugh. Everyone liked her and she was very friendly, always introducing me to new friends she made growing up,” said her father Yousef Rouzbayani.
“She had expensive taste, I remember that, but I think it helped her a lot in her career. I lost a person who was always in my heart and I will never forget her. On her last night, I hugged her and talked to her, and although she couldn’t answer me, I saw a tear in her eye. I want the people who knew her to remember her as the person she was, and I miss her very much,” added the father.
“She’s been so positive throughout, she’s taken everything in stride and she’s the bravest person to deal with it all. Her great strength was that she didn’t want to upset people, she always did her best not to disappoint them. In the end she spent eight days at the Marie Curie hospital and even there she remained positive and the staff with her were wonderful,” revealed Irene’s friend Helena Ganley about her battle with cancer.
Irene was born in Scotland to Iranian parents and they moved to South Shields when she was five. She started her career at MAC before joining Charlotte Tilbury at Fenwick in Newcastle. Irene also did makeup for top fashion houses, including Vivienne Westwood.
