John Paul Jones DeJoria was born the second son of an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother on April 13, 1944, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His parents divorced by the time he was two years old. When his single mother proved unable to support both children, they were sent to an East Los Angeles foster home and stayed there during the week until he was nine and returned to his mother. At nine he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers with his older brother to support his family.
DeJoria spent two years in the United States Navy, serving on the USS Hornet. After that, he held a series of jobs including janitor, door-to-door encyclopedia salesman and insurance salesman.
DeJoria entered the world of hair care as an entry-level employee of Redken Laboratories. He was fired from this position. In 1980, he formed John Paul Mitchell Systems with hairdresser Paul Mitchell and a loan for $700 and while living in a 20-year-old Rolls-Royce automobile.

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