Whatever Happened to Tabatha Coffey?
Tough as nails, brutally honest, and completely unfiltered, part Valkyrie and part tress architect, Tabatha Coffey made her television debut nearly 20 years ago as a contestant on Bravo’s reality competition series Shear Genius. After cutting locks and the competition, she quickly built a following, a legacy, and an empire.
One of reality TV’s most formidable personalities, Coffey seemingly stepped away from the spotlight at the height of her popularity, leaving fans to wonder where she went.
Who is Tabatha Coffey?
Born in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia, Tabatha Coffey began her career at age 14. She trained at the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London, worked as a stylist for top fashion publications, and worked as a platform artist for Joico International. She opened her own salon, Industrie Hair Gurus, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001, but also worked in West Hollywood, California, as a consultant.
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In 2007, Coffey became a contestant on Bravo’s Shear Genius, a reality competition series where hairstylists compete in weekly, themed, and timed styling challenges, judged by industry professionals, to determine the best artist. Coffey stood out not just because of her skill and obvious talent, but also her brazen attitude and intensity.
An early frontrunner, Coffey was eliminated in the sixth episode, but came out on top as she won Fan Favorite for the season and was offered her own series.
What was Tabatha’s Salon Takeover?
In 2008, Bravo launched Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, unleashing Coffey on failing salons across the country. In each episode, she would assess the business from top to bottom, evaluating the owner’s leadership, the staff’s performance, and the salon’s overall operations. She conducted staff evaluations, retrained employees, renovated the physical space, rebranded the business, and returned for a final evaluation to determine whether the changes would stick.
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The show was addictive. Many of the salons were just weeks away from closing permanently, and Coffey’s blunt, no-nonsense approach focused heavily on financial literacy, leadership accountability, and client experience. Fans loved that she didn’t sugarcoat the truth, and the confrontations, especially when owners or employees pushed back, became a defining part of the show. Still, beneath the tough love was a genuine goal: to save the business and the livelihoods tied to it.
The series ran for five seasons and 47 episodes. In later seasons, the format expanded beyond salons to include other struggling small businesses, such as bars and restaurants, under the retitled Tabatha Takes Over. The series ultimately concluded on November 29, 2013.
What happened to Tabatha Coffey?
Coffey continued her career as a renowned hairstylist, author, and television personality. She published books and later starred in the Bravo series Relative Success with Tabatha in 2018, though it ran for only one season.
In 2024, she revealed she was grieving the loss of her longtime partner, Leslie Keeler, with whom she shared a 25-year relationship. Keeler was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma in 2014, and Coffey became her caregiver. “Her job was to rest her body. My job was to take care of everything else,” Coffey told People.
In early 2026, Coffey partnered with Keratin Complex for a “VIP Business Building” tour, traveling to cities to teach salon professionals how to boost profits, strengthen leadership, and stay ahead of emerging business trends.
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