Lesley Vanderwalt

Lesley Vanderwalt

• OSCAR and BAFTA 🏆winning make up artist, lover of food, wine, travel and arts; sharing journeys, inspiration and influences

Lesley Vanderwalt, one of our Main Beach locals, is a New Zealand cinematic hair designer and makeup artist. She was raised and began her career in New Zealand before moving to Australia, where she has frequently collaborated with directors such as George Miller and Baz Luhrmann.

Lesley began her hairdressing apprenticeship at age 15 at Sigrid of Germany Salon in Wellington New Zealand, where one of her clients Cynthia Goodwin – head of makeup at the new Avalon Film & Television Studios in Wellington, asked her is she would like to join the makeup and hair training program there. She was able to continue her hairdressing apprenticeship and obtain her licence while training and working in makeup.

Working for TVNZ 1, she freelanced for her first film Skin Deep (1978), doing makeup, hair and costumes. In her spare time she learnt pattern cutting and designing which came in handy for the leading lady, who had just had a baby, as Lesley designed little outfits for her that did up at the front. Back then in NZ, with the film being on a very, very low budget she learnt to do everything!

Right Place, Right Time

In 1981, Lesley worked on Bad Blood on the West Coast of New Zealand, which required makeup of bullet wounds, scrapes and blood. When Bob McCarron, an Australian paramedic and prosthetic makeup artist, couldn’t get to the West Coast due to bad weather,  she was asked to create prosthetics (which she hadn’t heard of) for the film and she says …”and they worked, to my astonishment”.

Not long after, Bob recommended her to George Miller, director of Mad Max series, so off she went to Australia starting with Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, using her hair skills, makeup skills, and later prosthetic skills … “because the budgets were so small they didn’t employ 3 separate people”.

Lesley’s career blossomed from there over the years working on films and television, those in Queensland being Blood Oath, Escape from Absolom, Street Fighter, Scooby Doo, Aquaman, Dora the Explorer, and Elvis.

She has worked as a hair or makeup supervisor on blockbuster films including Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Farscape, Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and The Great Gatsby.^[

Lesley applying her skills in Mad Max

Lesley’s work

On The Great Gatsby, Lesley’s talent to work, organise and lead large teams of makeup and hair stylists working 12+ hours per day, putting together schedules doing “big crowd rooms” to cater for the makeup and hair needs for often 250 people, meant it was most efficient without exhausting her stylists.

  In 2016, she won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 88th Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair in the 69th British Academy Film Awards for her work overseeing hair and makeup on the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.

Lesley worked alongside Damian Martin (Prosthetic Makeup Artist/Creator) and Elka Wardega (Makeup, Special Effects & Prosthetic Artist) and  having a work history starting in 1999 on Farscape, Dark City (1998) Australia (2007),  Moulin Rouge (2001), The Great Gatsby (2011), Fury Road (2015), and Gods of Egypt (2016).

They worked together in Namibia, Africa, for 7 months in 2013 enduring early mornings in the desert with negative temperatures to the afternoons climbing as high as 40 degrees, then freezing at night.  This along with the distances, the number of actors, and the elements provided challenges for the day to day operation of the makeup crew.

From applying scars that needed to be fast to apply and non-sticky,  sand wreaking havoc on the wigs – which by the end of the day were orange and dirty – and the white War Boys going tan after a day’s shooting, Lesley had her hands full.

Her inspiration and imagination intertwined with her creative skills are evident in films like Mad Max: Fury Road.  Her ideas like Nux’s chest Tattoo of a V8 engine block – one she saw on one of the Weta boys arm’s; and Furiosa’s (Charlize Theron) black head – making it look like grease from the engines; then Miss Giddy who required 7 hours of applying her tattoos all over, sleeping with the tattoos, then finishing off the next morning.  Her days were long and hard – 18 hours including travelling, shoots, and reapplying, then doing prep and fittings for the next day.

Lesley is self critical of her work, but loves it when the actors start to get into the character while she doing their makeup – especially when the crew says “Wow, that looks great”.

WINNER OF

Academy Award: Best Achievement Makeup & Hairstyling (Mad Max: Fury Road)
British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA): BEST makeup & hair (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Hollywood Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Guild: Best Character Makeup (Mad Max: Fury Road)

AWARDS

1996 – Dark City – A.S.M.A Makeup Winner
1997 – Dark City – Saturn Makeup Nomination
1999 – Moulin Rouge – Hollywood Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Guild Best Period Makeup Winner  (with Maurizio Silvi)
2000 – Farscape – A.S.M.A Makeup Winner
2011 – Sleeping Beauty – MAC Cosmetic’s ADPG Makeup & Hair Design Winner
2013 – The Great Gatsby – MAC Cosmetic’s APDG Makeup & Hair Design Winner (with Maurizio Silvi and Kerry Warn)
2014 – The Great Gatsby – Hollywood Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Guild Best Character Makeup Nomination (with Maurizio Silvi)
2015 – Mad Max Fury Road – Hollywood Film Makeup of the Year Winner
2015 – Mad Max Fury Road– MAC Cosmetic’s APDG Makeup & Hair Design Winner
2016 – Mad Max Fury Road – INOCA Best Makeup and Hairstyling Winner
2016 – Mad Max Fury Road – OFTA Film Best Makeup and Hairstyling Winner
2016 – Mad Max Fury Road – Seattle Film Critics Best Makeup and Hairstyling Winner
2016 – Mad Max Fury Road – BFCA Critics Choice Best Hair and Makeup Winner
2016 – Mad Max Fury Road – Gold Derby Makeup and Hair Winner
2018 – AMIA Make Up Icon of the Year

MEMBER OF

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, AFI, AACTA, APDG

FEATURE FILMS

2020 – 3000 years of Longing – pre-production Makeup & Hair Designer – Director George Miller
2019/20 – Elvis – Set up & pre-production Makeup & Hair Supervisor- Director Baz Luhrmann
2018 – Peter Rabbit 2 – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Will Gluck
2018 – Dora the Explorer – Makeup Designer/Supervisor – Director James Bobin
2017 – Aquaman – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director James Wan
2017 – Peter Rabbit – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Will Gluck
2016 – Alien Covenant – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Ridley Scott
2014 – Gods of Egypt – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Alex Proyas
2012 – Mad Max: Fury Road – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director George Miller
2011 – The Great Gatsby – Makeup & Hair Supervisor & Additional Design – Director Baz Luhrmann
2010 – Sleeping Beauty  – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Julia Leigh
2008 – Knowing – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Alex Proyas
2007 – Australia – Makeup & Hair Supervisor & Additional Design – Director Baz Luhrmann
2005 – Ghost Rider – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Mark Stephen Johnson
2004 – Stealth – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Rob Cohen
2002 – Loves Brother – Makeup Designer – Director Jan Sardi
2002 – Beyond Borders – Makeup Designer – Director Martin Campbell Personal to Angelina Jolie & Clive Owen
2001 – Scooby Doo – Makeup Designer – Director Raja Gosnell Personal to Sarah Michelle Gellar
2000 – Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – Makeup Supervisor – Director George Lucas
1999 – Moulin Rouge – Makeup & Hair Supervisor – Director Baz Luhrmann
1997 – Babe: Pig In The City – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director George Miller
1996 – Dark City – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Alex Proyas
1995 – Shine – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Scott Hicks
1994 – Street Fighter – 2nd Unit Makeup/Hair/SFX – Director Steven De Souza
1993 – Vacant Possession – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Margo Nash
1993 – Escape From Absolom – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Martin Campbell
1991 – Shotgun Wedding – Makeup Designer – Director Paul Harmon
1991 – Strictly Ballroom – Makeup Designer – Director Baz Luhrmann
1991 – The Last Days Of Chez Nous – Makeup Designer – Director Gillian Armstrong
1990 – Return to the Blue Lagoon – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director William A Graham
1989 – Blood Oath – Makeup Designer – Director Stephen Wallace
1988 – The Blood of Heroes – SFX Makeup – Director David Webb Peoples
1986 – High Tide – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Gillian Armstrong
1985 – For Love Alone – Makeup Designer – Director Stephen Wallace
1984 – The Coca-Cola Kid – Makeup Designer – Director Dusan Makavejev
1981 – Forced Vengeance – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director James Fargo
1981 – Mad Max 2: Road Warrior – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director George Miller
1981 – Bad Blood – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Mike Newell
1980 – Beyond Reasonable Doubt – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director John Laing
1979 – Middle Age Spread – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director John Reid
1978 – Skin Deep – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Geoff Steven

TELEVISION

2015 – Secret City – Makeup & Hair Designer – Director Emma Freeman
2013 – Old School – Makeup & Hair Designer – Directors Gregor Jordan, Paul Oliver, Peter Templeman
2009 – My Place – Makeup & Hair Designer
2006 – Tripping Over – Makeup & Hair Designer
2003 – Blackjack: In the Money & Ace Point Game – Makeup & Hair Designer
2001 – Cold Feet – Makeup & Hair Designer
2000 – When Good Ghouls Go Bad – Makeup & Hair Designer
1998-99 – Farscape (US) Series 1 – Makeup & Hair Designer
1996 – Whipping Boy – Makeup & Hair Supervisor
1995 – The Beast (US) – Makeup & Hair Supervisor
1990 – Inspector Morse: The Promised Land – Makeup & Hair Supervisor
1989 – Bangkok Hilton – Makeup & Hair Supervisor
1986 – Vietnam – Makeup & Hair Supervisor
1985 – Shout: Story Of Johnny O’Keefe – Makeup Supervisor
1984 – Cowra Breakout – Makeup Supervisor
1983 – The Chamberlain Project – Makeup Supervisor
1982 – The Dismissal – Makeup Supervisor
1982 – Return To Eden (Series 1) – Makeup Supervisor
1977 – Started career at WNTV1 New Zealand Makeup & Hair

ART PROJECTS

2004 – Makeup & Hair for Tracey Moffatt’s Adventure series – Photo narratives, series of 10 images
2010 – Makeup & Hair for Baz Luhrmann & Vincent Fantauzzo’s “The Creek 1977”

All photos kindly supplied by Lesley Vanderwalt