Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone, born on August 9, 1869, in Metropolis, Illinois, was a pioneering African American entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist who revolutionized the beauty industry. The tenth of eleven children born to formerly enslaved parents, Robert and Isabella Turnbo, Annie was orphaned at a young age and raised by her older siblings in Peoria, Illinois. Despite frequent illnesses that prevented her from completing high school, she developed a keen interest in chemistry and hair care, inspired by her experiences styling her sisters’ hair and her dissatisfaction with damaging hair-straightening methods of the time, such as goose fat and harsh chemicals.
By the late 1890s, Annie began experimenting with herbal remedies and chemistry, developing non-damaging hair straighteners, oils, and her signature product, “Wonderful Hair Grower,” designed specifically for African American women. In 1900, she moved to Lovejoy (now Brooklyn), Illinois, where she manufactured and sold her products door-to-door, offering free demonstrations to build a customer base. Recognizing the potential of the growing African American market, she relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1902, where she opened her first shop at 2223 Market Street. Her business, trademarked as “Poro” (possibly derived from a Mende word for devotional society or a combination of her married name, Pope, and her sister’s married name, Roberts), grew rapidly. By 1910, she moved to a larger facility on 3100 Pine Street.
In 1918, Annie founded Poro College in St. Louis, the first institution in the United States dedicated to Black cosmetology. The multi-purpose complex included a manufacturing plant, retail store, business offices, a 500-seat auditorium, dining and meeting rooms, a roof garden, a dormitory, a gymnasium, a bakery, and a chapel. It employed nearly 200 local workers and trained over 75,000 agents worldwide, empowering African American women with economic opportunities through education and employment. By the 1920s, Annie’s business success made her one of the first Black women millionaires, with assets reportedly worth $14 million. In 1924, she paid nearly $40,000 in income tax, one of the highest amounts in Missouri.
Annie was a generous philanthropist, donating significantly to African American causes, including the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home (renamed the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center in 1946), Howard University, and the YMCA. She also financed the education of students at historically Black colleges and universities. Her commitment to community upliftment extended to ensuring her employees, primarily African American, were well-paid and given opportunities for advancement. She was honored as a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority and received an honorary degree from Howard University.
Her personal life included two marriages: first to Nelson Pope in 1902, which ended in divorce in 1907, and then to Aaron Eugene Malone, a former school principal, in 1914. This marriage also ended in a high-profile divorce in 1927. The divorce settlement, combined with lawsuits, tax issues, and the Great Depression, strained her finances. In 1930, she relocated Poro’s headquarters to Chicago, purchasing a city block on South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). Despite financial setbacks, her business continued with 32 branches nationwide by the 1950s.
Annie Turnbo Malone died of a stroke on May 10, 1957, at Provident Hospital in Chicago. Her estate, valued at $100,000, was bequeathed to her nieces and nephews. Though her legacy was initially overshadowed by her former employee, Madam C.J. Walker, recent efforts have spotlighted her contributions. St. Louis honors her with the annual Annie Malone Parade and Annie Malone Drive, and her story was fictionalized in the 2020 Netflix miniseries Self-Made. Annie Turnbo Malone’s innovations in hair care, her entrepreneurial vision, and her philanthropy transformed opportunities for African American women and left an enduring impact on the beauty industry.