Film, television, fashion: You name it and Kim Kimble has done it in her 30-plus years as a hair stylist 鈥� but even through the good times, she never gave up her backup plan.
Until the pandemic.
鈥淚 had a salon where I could work if I had to, and I closed it,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o now I don鈥檛 even have that.鈥�
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 aren鈥檛 alone, of course, as in their contract disputes with studios and streaming services. Crew and support staff on all sides of the entertainment equation 鈥� production, promotion, assistants 鈥� are also out of work from coast to coast.
鈥淔or three, four, five months before the writers went out, studios weren鈥檛 willing to greenlight projects, so many of us have been unemployed for a lot longer,鈥� said Linda Dowds, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist in her 60s who has worked in film and television since 1987.
The ; the It鈥檚 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 she鈥檚 in a 鈥渉eightened state of anxiety鈥� 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.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 only sustainable for so long,鈥� she said.
The 52-year-old Kimble, who has worked with Beyonc茅 and Taraji P. Henson and on 鈥淒reamgirls鈥� and belongs to the same union as Dowds. She has no idea what else she would do.
鈥淗air is what I love,鈥� said Kimble, in Los Angeles. 鈥淭here鈥檚 really nothing else, you know. And I love this business, so it鈥檚 really hard to understand, 鈥榃here would I go?鈥欌��
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.
鈥淢y work has been erased mostly. Honestly, I don鈥檛 have a Plan B,鈥� he said.
The strikes have come after years of lessened pay for their work, he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 not exaggerating when I say we make one-tenth for the exact same job we did in 2005,鈥� Maulawizada said. 鈥淚f you worked with an A-list client you could easily make anywhere between $3,500 to $5,000 for a red carpet. Now you鈥檙e lucky if you get $500.鈥�
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 that鈥檚 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.
鈥淲ith the just that alone is hard,鈥� 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.
鈥淚 have a salon suite but most of my clients are actors. A lot of them aren鈥檛 getting their hair cut regularly right now because they鈥檙e not working. I鈥檓 doing whatever I can to do house calls and haircuts,鈥� said celebrity stylist and men鈥檚 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 day鈥檚 work helping prepare Sarah Jessica Parker for a round of Zoom interviews in a collaboration with a French skincare brand to help a women鈥檚 mental health organization.
鈥淢any of us used to do beauty and we used to do celebrity but it became much more in demand to only do celebrity. That鈥檚 what we have been concentrating on, which has actually worked against us in a way because of times like this,鈥� Maulawizada said. 鈥淚f I don鈥檛 get work in the next month, I鈥檒l be worried about paying my bills.鈥�
He once earned money from brand consulting, but these days 鈥渂rands are putting more money into influencers than they do actual professionals.鈥�
Maulawizada is particularly concerned about colleagues whose sole focus is on film.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have an online personality, an online presence, because they鈥檙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.鈥�
He鈥檚 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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 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 doesn鈥檛 have a lot of followers on Instagram,鈥� Maulawizada said.
Glam squadders find themselves in in the entertainment industry.
Whitney Anne Adams is a costumer designer who works mostly feature films.
鈥淲ork for me has completely dried up, with nothing on the horizon,鈥� she said. 鈥淏esides a small two-month project, I haven鈥檛 worked since November 2022 since the slowdown was already beginning last year.鈥�
The only work she has found was a couple of days of background styling on a non-union music video.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really nothing else to pivot to at this moment,鈥� 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. It鈥檚 the same umbrella organization as union hair stylists and makeup artists.
鈥淲e negotiate our contracts next year. We hope that the solidarity they feel from us now will come back at us then,鈥� Adams said of the union workers currently on strike. 鈥淲e all have very similar needs and we all work side by side. If they don鈥檛 get a fair contract it will be really bad for all of us in this industry.鈥�
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