Jean-Paul Guerlain, born 9 October 1937 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was the fourth-generation in-house perfumer of the House of Guerlain and the great-grandson of founder Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain. He learned composition directly from his grandfather, the celebrated Jacques Guerlain, rather than through formal schooling, and joined the family firm in the mid-1950s while still in his teens.

Over roughly five decades he composed a long list of the house's modern signatures. His Vetiver (1959) became a benchmark of the genre, and Habit Rouge (1965) is often cited as a landmark spiced-oriental fragrance for men. He continued with Chamade (1969), Nahéma (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), Derby (1985) and Samsara (1989), several of them developed alongside perfumer Anne-Marie Saget. He also held a leadership role in the company and steered its creative direction as the last Guerlain family member to serve as its master perfumer.

Guerlain gradually withdrew from the house after its acquisition by LVMH, formally stepping back around 2002 while continuing in an advisory capacity. In October 2010 he used a racial slur during a France 2 television interview about the creation of Samsara; LVMH ended its association with him following the remark, and in March 2012 a Paris court convicted him of making a racial insult and fined him, a matter widely reported at the time.