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Sydell Miller’s Pioneering Philanthropy
Miller’s philanthropy spans decades and disciplines, benefiting important organizations in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and beyond.
T he last time that Dr. Christopher Kuhar, the Executive Director of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, saw the beauty-industry pioneer and philanthropist Sydell Miller, she was giving an elephant a bath. As Miller doused the mammal with a stream of water in one of the zoo’s vast yards, Dr. Kuhar recalls the palpable elation on Miller’s face. Her love of elephants in particular helped fuel her long standing support for the Ohio-area zoo, a passion also evident within the fine art she collected at home – such as a gilt bronze and glass table by François-Xavier Lalanne, featuring prominent elephant motifs.
A Legacy of Beauty | The Sydell Miller Collection
During her lifetime, Miller had a hand in helping create better living conditions for her beloved elephants at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo – “my elephants” as she called them, says Dr. Kuhar. Thanks to her generous gift, the institution was able to build its now-renowned African Elephant Crossing. This expanded footprint has helped the majestic mammals move from one yard to another, which has been a boon for their health while also allowing awe-struck guests to safely observe and learn about them at the zoo.
But Miller’s gift didn’t just impact the elephants themselves. “That building set the tone for how we’ve built a lot of projects and how we’ve dealt with a lot of animal care since then,” Dr. Kuhar says. “It was a turning point for us as an organization. It was also a turning point in terms of the philanthropic community in Northeast Ohio.”
“No matter how many loaves of bread you have on the table, there’s always some to share.”
- Sydell Miller
The breadth of Miller’s philanthropy, which spans decades and disciplines, has indeed changed the development of several important Cleveland mainstays. With her late husband Arnold, Sydell Miller co-founded Ardell, introducing eyelashes as a professional salon service, and later co-founded Matrix Essentials in 1980, the most innovative professional salon company and the largest manufacturer of professional hair and beauty products. After her husband’s passing in the 90s, Miller took the helm of Matrix as CEO and President, leading the company to unprecedented success. After selling her company, Miller turned her focus to family, philanthropy and collecting. Years after she received care at Cleveland Clinic and fully recovered, Miller and her daughters, Lauren Spilman and Stacie Halpern, donated $70 million to the hospital.
Then, in 2008, Cleveland Clinic opened its Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Pavilion, which houses a new heart center. Taking a cue from Miller’s own extraordinary art collection, the new heart center incorporated thousands of pieces of art into this expanded space. It’s since become one of the top-rated hospitals for cardiovascular care in the United States, says Lara Kalafatis, Philanthropy Institute Chair of Cleveland Clinic. “To really understand the donation is to go back and understand where the Miller family came from, what they created together, their compassion and love the way the family was engaged in the business,” Kalafatis says. “All of that tells the story of why, and what makes this collection and the gift so impactful.”
Ultimately, Miller believed in sharing resources for the greater good, an ethos that informed her various philanthropic efforts and how she raised her children. Spilman says that Miller would emphasize the importance of giving back to both her and her sister and, later, to her grandchildren. “Some people can give their time,” she would tell Spilman and Halpern. “Some people can give their money. Some people share ideas, and some people help out in different ways. But we all have a responsibility to help, to look out for each other and to find a way to give.”
A portion of proceeds from Sotheby’s sale of art and design objects from her collection will now benefit Cleveland Clinic Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center, Cleveland Museum of Art and the Sydell L. Miller Elephant Care & Visitor Center at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
It’s remarkable that Miller made a point to put her substantial fortune back into the community, Dr. Kuhar adds. “They made the community a better place.”
