Anastasia Soare Built a $3 Billion Empire. Started With No English. No Money. | Ep. 404
episodePreviously titled “She Started Anastasia Beverly Hills Cosmetics in One Salon Room. It Became a Global Empire | Ep. 404 with Anastasia Soare Founder of Anastasia Beverly Hill Cosmetics” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I will die doing eyebrows and creating makeup.
This is Anastasia Soiree. She came to America with no money, no English, and no connections. 30 years later, she built a billion-dollar beauty empire, earned Oprah and J.Lo as clients, and risked $225 million of her own money to keep control of the company she created.
I think I broke every single possible, every barrier that you could think. In Romania, we had to solve problems.
What challenges did Anastasia face when she first arrived in America?
We couldn't sit there and cry, oh my God, poor me, I don't have food. You didn't have time. Nobody would listen. You had to find a solution. And I think being an entrepreneur is kind of the same thing.
Anastasia, excited to have you on for a variety of reasons. But when I got to hear you speak at an event a few years ago, I was blown away by your story. And there's some connection that we have. And I know you're from Romania. And my family's from Romania. What do you think about me going back to Romania to see the roots of my family?
Oh, I think it would be amazing. Absolutely amazing. First of all, you should go, and I will connect you with the right people, but you should go when they have music festivals. I mean, Romania is like so, they have so many events, opera, but a lot of festivals like Half a million people at festivals and close by Oradea because your family is from Oradea. A few hours by car. You should go there and explore. You could go to Sibiu, Brasov. Very beautiful cities. Absolutely.
Have you been back?
How did Anastasia's background in Romania shape her entrepreneurial mindset?
And if so, how does it feel going back now compared to when you left?
Well, it's a completely different country. When I left was the communist regime. Now the country is free. It's a different country, different era. We are talking about 35 years. You know, things changed.
So let's go back to when you first got to L.A. I heard that you cried every single day for six months. What was making you cry?
Well, I left something behind. I left my family. I have a very big family there. I had security. I have a roadmap. We knew everybody in town. I came here. I didn't speak the language. I didn't know anyone. And it was quite shocking. It was very, very, very difficult. I felt like no security. I understood that this is a new life that I had to build. You know, so it was was not easy, I have to say. Shocking.
I can only imagine. And I know that you were you had to separate from your husband for three years, I believe, while you were trapped in Romania with your daughter. And it kind of reminded me of my mom telling me about my family, how one of them had to come and then wait. And there was a lot of separation. How does one deal with that?
I mean, you know, it teaches you to endure kind of emotional endurance. It teaches you to fight for something that a dream. I had a dream. I wanted to come to America. And that dream kind of gave me the power to constantly go through the hurdle. I mean, two years and a half, it was a long time. But again, it was a lot easier because I had all my family there. I was surrounded by them. I mean, the community, I knew everybody. Everybody in town knew me. So it was from that aspect, I had the support of the community. Of course, having my husband far away, I think was harder for him than for me. Because at least I had the family. He was by himself here. So there were sacrifices. You know, I think every immigrant, everyone that decides to come to United States, they have to, you know, go through a lot.
I, and I know you've said recently that being an entrepreneur was like finding food and meat in Romania. Do you think that entrepreneurs are so good when they are immigrants because of their experiences of how, of before they got to the U S and then afterwards?
Because we lived, and when I was in Romania, at least the 80s, late 70s and 80s were very difficult. So you had to find solution. You had to kind of adapt every single day to whatever it was. Nobody was prepared for that. You had to find ways of... providing food for the family, providing so many things for going to a doctor. You had to have, I don't know, a bottle of whiskey and a carton of canned cigarettes or Marlboro to
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:31
2
What challenges did Anastasia face when she first arrived in America?
0:31–1:45
3
How did Anastasia's background in Romania shape her entrepreneurial mindset?
1:45–7:54
4
What unique technique did Anastasia develop for eyebrow shaping?
7:54–13:01
5
How did the Oprah moment influence Anastasia's brand recognition?
13:01–16:50
6
What role does trust play in Anastasia's celebrity relationships?
16:50–24:25
7
What significant investment did Anastasia make to maintain control of her company?
24:25–32:10
8
How does Anastasia define success and legacy in her business?
32:10–42:17
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Founder's Story
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