Who Will Win Best Hair and Makeup at the Oscars 2020? The Past Has Some Clues
In film, visual transformation has always served as an essential form of storytelling, with the sets, costumes, and hair and makeup styling all essential to the process. But, of all these factors on the big screen, it’s hair and makeup that took the longest to receive due recognition at the Academy Awards.
Aside from special-achievement Oscars awarded to makeup artist William J. Tuttle for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao in 1964 and John Chambers for Planet of the Apes in 1968, there was a surprising lack of acknowledgment for the beauty pros that help bring characters to life up until the early ’80s. But after the academy received complaints for failing to acknowledge the work of the makeup supervisors in 1980’s The Elephant Man, the next year an entire category, best makeup, was dedicated to honoring makeup effects; the introductory winner being Rick Baker for 1981’s An American Werewolf in London. It was a big leap for beauty, but the omission of hairstylists still stretched for over a decade until 1993 when the award became shared with hairstylists, although the name of the category wasn’t changed to best makeup and hairstyling until 2013.
Over the years the Oscars have seen a wide spectrum of wins in this category, from the first and third installments of the fantastical The Lord of the Rings trilogy to biographic dramas such as 2002’s Frida and 2007’s La Vie en Rose and the 2015 postapocalyptic-epic action film Mad Max: Fury Road. But one of the most fascinating aspects of the category is that films that might not have otherwise been considered Oscar-worthy received special recognition. Take, for example, 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire, 1996’s The Nutty Professor, or 2016’s Suicide Squad—each of their sole nominations for best makeup and hairstyling won out.
Fast forward to Oscars 2020, where the best makeup and hairstyling category has more nominees than ever before. Compared to the typical three, there are five in total: Bombshell, Judy, 1917, Joker, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. They span genres, eras, and types of transformation—so who’s most likely to win?
Bombshell has tons of buzz thanks to the meticulous transformations of Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman into Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, respectively. On Saturday it dominated the 7th Annual Make-Up Artists Hair Stylists Guild Awards in Los Angeles.
“In Bombshell, the makeup was extremely critical,” explains Michael Key, professional makeup artist and founder of Make-Up Artist magazine, as well as the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show. “It’s likeness makeup, and you have to hide prosthetic appliances on the faces of extremely well-known actresses. It’s much easier to take something that’s grotesque or extreme. Like The Elephant Man, you could hide a box of Wheaties under that makeup. But not on Nicole Kidman.” There are similar nuances in Judy, starring Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland, where playing certain features up or down is a delicate art. “[Hair and makeup designer] Jeremy Woodhead did a fabulous job of being a part of an ensemble to create the Judy character,” says Key.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Golden Globe– and Critics’ Choice–award–winning turn as the infamous villain in Joker definitely is amped up with the impact of his character’s signature clown paint and slime green hair. But both Joker and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil have a trait that could potentially work against them: familiarity. “Angelina Jolie’s Malificent makeup is difficult to do, but people have seen this character before, and there could be bias in that,” Key explains. Finally, there’s 1917, which depicts all the visual cues of wartime, from dirt on faces to brutal battle wounds. But while prosthetic designer Tristan Versluis’s work for the film’s war-carnage scenes in particular is eerily realistic with its use of animal and human-body prosthetics, Key points out that it technically doesn’t count since it’s not a change made to a performer’s body, per the academy’s current rules.
The two genres of this year’s nominees—imperceptible likeness makeup in Bombshell and Judy and more extreme transformation like Joaquin Phoenix’s full face in Joker—have of course been pitted against each other before. Key remembers 1988, when Beetlejuice and Coming to America were each nominated. “Rick Baker did amazing makeup on Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in the barbershop scene—the illusion was so complete and seamless,” explains Key. “I thought it was absolutely genius, but it lost to Beetlejuice, which was much more obvious and over-the-top makeup.”
As history never fails to remind us, the academy has a proclivity for keeping Hollywood guessing. But no matter what happens on the big night, the expansion of the best makeup and hairstyling category alone makes it a momentous year. “The Oscars is the contest,” says Key. “It’s not perfect, but it will always be the high-water mark.”
The Oscars 2020 will be held on Sunday, February 9. Ahead of the ceremony, look back at all the winners for best makeup and hairstyling, below.
Photo: Everett Collection1/37An American Werewolf in London, 1981
Photo: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Everett Collection2/37Quest for Fire, 1982
