Film, television, fashion: You name it and Kim Kimble has done it in her 30-plus years as a hair stylist B次元官网网址� but even through the good times, she never gave up her backup plan.
Until the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淚 had a salon where I could work if I had to, and I closed it,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o now I donB次元官网网址檛 even have that.B次元官网网址�
Kimble and a world of Hollywood hair stylists, makeup artists and manicurists have been idled by in an era of declining rates as they were still rebuilding their livelihoods from the painful months of the coronavirus shutdowns.
They arenB次元官网网址檛 alone, of course, as in their contract disputes with studios and streaming services. Crew and support staff on all sides of the entertainment equation B次元官网网址� production, promotion, assistants B次元官网网址� are also out of work from coast to coast.
B次元官网网址淔or three, four, five months before the writers went out, studios werenB次元官网网址檛 willing to greenlight projects, so many of us have been unemployed for a lot longer,B次元官网网址� said Linda Dowds, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist in her 60s who has worked in film and television since 1987.
The ; the ItB次元官网网址檚 unclear how long the strikes will last. In more than a dozen interviews, specialists in wardrobe, hair, makeup and nails said they feared losing homes and health insurance as they scurry for pivots. Even if the studios and streamers reach agreements with the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA sooner rather than later, it will take weeks for productions to ramp back up.
Dowds, who shared an Oscar for her work on said sheB次元官网网址檚 in a B次元官网网址渉eightened state of anxietyB次元官网网址� over the strikes. But she considers herself among the lucky. She spent years working back-to-back projects, allowing her to keep her health insurance for now through the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild.
B次元官网网址淏ut thatB次元官网网址檚 only sustainable for so long,B次元官网网址� she said.
The 52-year-old Kimble, who has worked with Beyonc茅 and Taraji P. Henson and on B次元官网网址淒reamgirlsB次元官网网址� and belongs to the same union as Dowds. She has no idea what else she would do.
B次元官网网址淗air is what I love,B次元官网网址� said Kimble, in Los Angeles. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 really nothing else, you know. And I love this business, so itB次元官网网址檚 really hard to understand, B次元官网网址榃here would I go?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Makeup artist Matin Maulawizada is based in New York but usually travels the world, working with actors and other celebrities on television sets, red carpets and talk show appearances.
B次元官网网址淢y work has been erased mostly. Honestly, I donB次元官网网址檛 have a Plan B,B次元官网网址� he said.
The strikes have come after years of lessened pay for their work, he said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not exaggerating when I say we make one-tenth for the exact same job we did in 2005,B次元官网网址� Maulawizada said. B次元官网网址淚f you worked with an A-list client you could easily make anywhere between $3,500 to $5,000 for a red carpet. Now youB次元官网网址檙e lucky if you get $500.B次元官网网址�
Celebrity manicurist Julie Kandalec in New York has been working the A-list (Emily Blunt, Storm Reid and Selena Gomez among them) for nearly 13 years. She also teaches entrepreneurial skills for beauty professionals online, a lucrative side hustle thatB次元官网网址檚 helping sustain her. In addition, she works with brands and has maintained a network of contacts outside the Hollywood bubble.
Still, she worries about making rent.
B次元官网网址淲ith the just that alone is hard,B次元官网网址� Kandalec said.
Like others, she has maintained salon space over the years while staying busy with red carpet and other work. For some, finding enough salon clients to make a dent in their lost incomes has been a problem.
B次元官网网址淚 have a salon suite but most of my clients are actors. A lot of them arenB次元官网网址檛 getting their hair cut regularly right now because theyB次元官网网址檙e not working. IB次元官网网址檓 doing whatever I can to do house calls and haircuts,B次元官网网址� said celebrity stylist and menB次元官网网址檚 groomer Andrea Pezzillo, 38, in Los Angeles. She, too, teaches online.
A for the 59-year-old Maulawizada. If it stretches into December, he and his husband, a teacher, will have to sell their house.
He just picked up a dayB次元官网网址檚 work helping prepare Sarah Jessica Parker for a round of Zoom interviews in a collaboration with a French skincare brand to help a womenB次元官网网址檚 mental health organization.
B次元官网网址淢any of us used to do beauty and we used to do celebrity but it became much more in demand to only do celebrity. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what we have been concentrating on, which has actually worked against us in a way because of times like this,B次元官网网址� Maulawizada said. B次元官网网址淚f I donB次元官网网址檛 get work in the next month, IB次元官网网址檒l be worried about paying my bills.B次元官网网址�
He once earned money from brand consulting, but these days B次元官网网址渂rands are putting more money into influencers than they do actual professionals.B次元官网网址�
Maulawizada is particularly concerned about colleagues whose sole focus is on film.
B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 have an online personality, an online presence, because theyB次元官网网址檙e working 16 hours a day sitting backstage, watching their monitors to make sure that the actors and actresses look good. And these are the experts of the experts.B次元官网网址�
HeB次元官网网址檚 trying to turn that around during the strikes, pitching brands to donate money to professional makeup artists in exchange for social media video posts showing how to use products. He has a couple of brands lined up already.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 money they would usually pay some kid dancing around and doing their makeup on TikTok as opposed to a pro that has been doing Oscar-winning movies but doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a lot of followers on Instagram,B次元官网网址� Maulawizada said.
Glam squadders find themselves in in the entertainment industry.
Whitney Anne Adams is a costumer designer who works mostly feature films.
B次元官网网址淲ork for me has completely dried up, with nothing on the horizon,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏esides a small two-month project, I havenB次元官网网址檛 worked since November 2022 since the slowdown was already beginning last year.B次元官网网址�
The only work she has found was a couple of days of background styling on a non-union music video.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 really nothing else to pivot to at this moment,B次元官网网址� she said.
Adams, based in Richmond, Virginia, has been dedicating herself to union work, sharing information about grant programs and other resources. She belongs to two union locals, both affiliated with the and Motion Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts. ItB次元官网网址檚 the same umbrella organization as union hair stylists and makeup artists.
B次元官网网址淲e negotiate our contracts next year. We hope that the solidarity they feel from us now will come back at us then,B次元官网网址� Adams said of the union workers currently on strike. B次元官网网址淲e all have very similar needs and we all work side by side. If they donB次元官网网址檛 get a fair contract it will be really bad for all of us in this industry.B次元官网网址�
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