Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson Turn out to be First Black Girls to Win the Oscar for Greatest Make-up and Hairstyling

Within the 30 years that the Academy Awards has included a Greatest Make-up and Hairstyling class, a Black lady has by no means been nominated. This yr, for the primary time ever, hairstylists Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson turned not solely the primary Black ladies nominated for that Oscar however the first Black ladies to win it. 

For his or her outstanding work serving to to remodel Viola Davis into the historic title character in Ma Rainey’s Black Backside, Neal, the movie’s hair division head, and Wilson, Davis’s private hairstylist, beat out the hair and make-up groups for Mank, Pinocchio, Hillbilly Elegy, and Emma to take residence prime honors and make long-overdue historical past. 

“I wished to say thanks to our ancestors who put the work in, have been denied, however by no means gave up,” Neal stated upon accepting the award, telling the viewers about her Tuskeegee Airman grandfather, James Holland. “And I additionally stand right here as Jamika and I break this glass ceiling with a lot pleasure for the longer term. As a result of I can image Black trans ladies standing up right here, and Asian sisters, and our Latina sisters, and Indigenous ladies. And I do know that someday it received’t be uncommon or groundbreaking it’ll simply be regular.”

Staying true to Rainey’s actual experiences, Neal created horse-hair wigs for Davis to put on within the acclaimed movie. They served to brilliantly complement the make-up work of Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Davis’s private make-up artist.

Extra of our favourite appears from the Oscars:

Now watch three make-up artists flip themselves right into a Monet portray:

Observe Marci on Instagram and Twitter, or subscribe to Attract’s e-newsletter for each day magnificence tales delivered proper to your inbox.