Rusk was born in the
Gorbals, Glasgow, on 22 June 1947. She was the daughter of Peggy and Francis Murphy, a car salesman, and had nine siblings. As a child Rusk aspired to become an air stewardess so she could travel the world but her first paid employment was on a fruit and vegetable
market stall. The family moved from the tenements of the Gorbals to the
Castlemilk housing estate, built in the 1950s, and Rusk was educated at the
Holyrood Secondary School. Rusk became the first woman to win the title of British Hairdresser of the Year in 1987, jointly awarded with her husband, the pair were also the first Scots to win the title. The couple separated in the late 1980s with Irvine moving to the United States where he founded the Rusk
hair care brand. Rusk was named the world's best hairdresser four times by the French magazine
Metamorphose. She and her husband had lent the business £500,000 but it was in difficulties by 2009, owing
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £80,000 in unpaid tax. Rusk's husband died in 2014 and she afterwards moved to the West End of Glasgow. She died in Glasgow on 28 December 2022, having suffered from kidney disease for a long time. Following Rusk's death the Fellowship for British Hairdressing described her as a "legend" and a "true innovator". == References ==