As the founder of one of the original prestige clean beauty brands Indie Lee, Indie Lee has been helping reshape the beauty industry since 2008. But her mission didn’t begin in a boardroom. It began in a hospital room.
Before skincare, before advocacy, before clean beauty was even a category, Indie was a mother of two with two dogs and a 750-square-foot greenhouse where she grew starter plants and edible flowers for Whole Foods. She was deeply immersed in the farm-to-table movement. Organic. Homegrown. Thoughtful.
She believed she was doing everything right.
At 36, the headaches began. Then came the loss of peripheral vision. Early menopause. A diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. In November 2008, an MRI revealed a rare brain tumor. Doctors told her she could have as little as six months to live.
When she asked how this could happen, especially given how carefully she ate, her doctor asked a question that quietly divided her life into before and after:
“What do you put on your skin?”
She didn’t know.
Like many of us, she checked ingredient labels on food. She understood shelf life. She cared about sourcing. But the beauty products she used every day? Those were simply trusted. Used until empty. Replaced without question. That moment became her awakening.
On April 22, 2009, Earth Day, she underwent surgery. When she opened her eyes, her surgeon told her they had removed the entire tumor.
“Welcome to the rest of your life.”
In 2010, she founded her namesake brand, Indie Lee, not simply to create skincare, but to create awareness, ingredient transparency, environmental responsibility, and thoughtful formulation. A belief that what we put on our bodies deserves the same care as what we put in them.
Q: What were you doing professionally before you started Indie Lee, and what problem were you trying to solve?
Indie Lee: Before starting Indie Lee, I was a CPA and worked at HBO managing their International Finance department. I left finance after I had my second child, got very involved in the farm to table movement before being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was shortly thereafter diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and given as little as six months to live. Doctors said that it could be environmentally derived and attributed to something as simple as what I was putting on my skin (or something my mom put on when she was pregnant with me). That moment changed everything. I decided I'd spend whatever time I had left creating a skincare line that was safe, effective, and looked beautiful on a shelf. Then I'd educate and empower others about the beauty industry. Note: this was in 2008, clean beauty wasn't really a thing. On 4/22/09, I successfully survived brain surgery and launched the website 6 weeks later.
Her leadership, however, isn’t rooted in perfection. It’s rooted in perspective. “Challenges remind me of the inner strength I possess,” she says. It’s the kind of strength that doesn’t demand attention. The kind that forms quietly through motherhood, uncertainty, recovery, and rebuilding.
In her TED Talk on March 6, 2026, Indie spoke about being present and remembering that challenges are happening for her, not to her. It’s a mindset that shifts us from fear to awareness, from urgency to intention. “I sometimes forget that whether I like it or not, my body has limitations. I need to honor them, not fight them,” she said. There is humility in that acknowledgment. A willingness to listen. To respect the body instead of overriding it.
Indie’s story is not about alarm. It is about consciousness. About asking better questions of our products, our environments, and ourselves. From her greenhouse to the global stage, Indie continues to advocate for education, transparency, and empowered choice.
Q: For women beginning their entrepreneurial journey, what is the one piece of advice you give to them?
Indie Lee: There is power in asking for help. So know what your strengths are and then surround yourself with people who excel where you are weakest. Remember, failure is nothing more than a redirection to where you are meant to go.
This Women’s History Month, we honor Indie Lee not just for building a remarkable brand, but for being a pioneer in building awareness around clean beauty, for empowering others with knowledge, and for choosing intention in the face of uncertainty.
At Wellbel, we hold deep respect for women who turn personal awakening into something that serves others. The belief that what we put in and on our bodies shapes our well-being is one we share.
Indie reminds us that awareness doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful.
It simply has to be lived.
