Mark Payne | |
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| Born | (1965-07-02)July 2, 1965 (age 60) Baker City, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupations | Makeup artist, filmmaker, author |
| Parent(s) | Jack Payne Jayne Payne |
Mark Payne (born July 2, 1965) is an American make-up artist, filmmaker and author. He has won threeEmmy Awards.
Mark Payne started his career as a performer. At the age of twelve, Payne began making home movies of himself performing as his favorite singers. He involved his mother, grandmother and neighbors in the creative process. Acting as his own agent, he used these home movies as demo tapes which led to headlining dates in Europe and Australia.[1] By the age of sixteen, he had performed as the opening act forBob Hope andMilton Berle.[2] Payne became prominent as the preeminentLiza Minnelli impersonator. In the early 1980s Payne became close friends with the close harmony music group Montgomery, Plant & Stritch, andBilly Stritch remains close. It was Stritch and Montgomery who introduced Payne to Minnelli in the 1990s.
Mark attendedHigh School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas.
Payne morphed his talent into several incarnations. He was a successful performer, singer and recording artist.[3] He also designed clothing for well-known 1970s designer Suzy Creamcheese and later under his own name. Many celebrities includingMadonna,Cher andDionne Warwick have purchased his clothing.[1] Payne metSammy Davis Jr. at the Suzy Creamcheese store in Vegas. Payne flew on his first private plane ride as a guest of Davis. When Payne went to NYC in 1984 Creamcheese arranged for him to meetAndy Warhol atThe Factory. Warhol in turn introduced Payne toHalston. Mark met Yutaka Hasegawa who was a pattern maker at Halston. Yutaka rented his apartment on 58th St to Mark when he moved to NYC a year later. These people's influences would help shape Payne's career.
In 1996, while in Texas taking care of his dying grandmother, Payne followed in his mother's footsteps and began working as a make-up artist. In 1997, he met make-up artistLaura Mercier who encouraged him to move to New York. In 1997, Payne collaborated on a HarperCollins book calledDouble Take: The Art Of The Celebrity MakeOver.[1]
In 1997, Payne transformedSally Jessy Raphael intoLiza Minnelli launching his career in television makeup. He then began working onOne Life to Live, gaining him his firstEmmy nomination in 2001.[4] In 2002 Payne's career came full circle when Payne was hired to replaceKevyn Aucoin to doLiza Minnelli’s makeup.In 2004, Payne won his first Emmy for his work onRegis & Kelly, winning a second Emmy the following year.[5] In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he was nominated for six Emmy's for his work on the Food Network seriesSandra Lee Semi-Homemade, 2012 brought his third Emmy win for that show.Payne has appeared as a makeover expert on television shows includingThe Rosie O'Donnell Show;The View;Fashion Emergency andLive With Regis & Kelly. Considered "a renowned leader in the field of beauty", he is a regular contributor toElle;InStyle andAllure fashion magazines. In November 2006, he receivedThe Best Of Beauty award byAllure magazine.[3]
In 2000 it was Payne who suggested toBarry and Fran Weissler to castReba McEntire in the revival ofAnnie Get Your Gun (musical), which gave McEntire her Broadway debut in 2001.
He has worked with numerous celebrities includingBeyoncé,[6]Courtney Thorne-Smith,Jane Seymour,Paris Hilton,Sting andKelly Ripa. Payne notably also worked withHillary Clinton. Payne has been a guest at theWhite House during three presidencies. Recently Payne has gained interest from Star Wars fans for his involvement in TheStar Wars franchise.
His friendship withPaul McCartney andHeather Mills put him in the middle of the media frenzy surrounding their divorce. Payne was often at Mills side during public appearances and the very public divorce trial in February 2008.[7] At the end of the trial Payne was given the couples infamous purple PT Cruiser, the couple’s Los Angeles car.
In July 2006, while with Mills, Payne was assaulted by Jay Kaycappa inBrighton, England. Kaycappa was a notorious paparazzo trying to photograph Mills for the tabloids. There was a much publicized trial the following summer. Kaycappa, who had 132 previous criminal convictions, was found guilty and sentenced to a 140-hour community order and ordered to pay Payne £50., Mills £100. and £1,000. court costs.[8][9]
Heather Mills first made Payne aware of the importance of "Green" products and theVegan lifestyle.[10] He has become very conscious of the environment and believes "you are what you consume."
While working on a tribute video about Payne, a friend asked Payne for his assistance in compiling film footage from his childhood performances. Because of Payne's intimate knowledge of the hundreds of hours of footage, it was a natural decision for him to direct. In 2008, he directed his first filmGet Happy (2008 Film)[2] which has won fourteen awards.
Payne is an avid collector of art and fashion. A large portion of Payne'sHalston collection went on display atBrooklyn Museum in 2020 and will tour toAGO museum in Toronto andDortmunder U, Germany in 2021 as part of the Studio 54 Night Magic Exhibit also featured in WWD magazine.[citation needed]
Payne has a popular BNB compound on 5 acres nearJoshua Tree, California called Joshua View.
