Chris-Tia Donaldson, founder and CEO of TGIN (Thank God It’s Natural), passed away on Saturday. She was 42.
Her passing was confirmed on an Instagram post by her niece and finance and HR manager, Aris Singleton.
“TGIN and the TGIN Foundation has lost a leader and a visionary and the world has lost a selfless and beautiful human being,” Singleton shared. “Chris-Tia lived a life of service and was a force to be reckoned with inside and outside of the beauty community. Through her passion and purpose, she redefined beauty and created a community of women empowerment teaching us the importance of advocating for ourselves, especially our health."
“The entire TGIN family mourns the tremendous loss. No words can adequately express that sadness or the love we have for her," she aded.
Born in Detroit, Donaldson was a graduate of Harvard University and its law school. She worked as an attorney before penning her first book Thank God I’m Natural in 2009. In 2011, she launched TGIN in 2011 and by March 2015, the natural hair care products were being sold in 250 Target stores across the country. Today, TGIN is sold in over 10,000 stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Ulta, and Walmart.
In December of 2015, Donaldson was first diagnosed with breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she authored This is Only a Test: What Breast Cancer Taught Me About Faith, Love, Hair, and Business, detailing her journey with the disease.
The self-proclaimed "breast cancer thriver" continued her work as a breast cancer advocate and founded the TGIN Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting uninsured women undergoing breast cancer treatment. That support included a partnership with Lyft, “to provide reliable transportation to breast cancer patients undergoing treatment or receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Donaldson leaves behind a lasting legacy of entrepreneurial excellence and service to Black women by promoting natural hair care as well as breast cancer awareness.
We at EBONY send our prayers and condolences to the family and friends of Chris-Tia Donaldson.
