 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ve Neill" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ve Neill | |
|---|---|
 Neill in 2023 | |
| Born | Mary Flores 1951 (age 73–74) |
| Occupation | Makeup artist |
| Years active | 1977–present |
Ve Neill (bornMary Flores; 1951) is an American makeup artist. She has won threeAcademy Awards, for the filmsBeetlejuice,Mrs. Doubtfire andEd Wood. She has been nominated for eight Oscars in total.
Neill recounts that she aspired to be a make-up artist since the age of five and wanted to create monsters.[1] As a child, she was known for painting the faces of her cousins with whatever was at hand, such as lipstick and shoe polish. Her interest in the makeup world was broadened by Leo Lotito, a make-up artist for TV shows who helped her with her Halloween costumes.[2] A trip to a science-fiction convention at the age of 18 to gather inspiration ended withFred Phillips taking her under his wing and a job onStar Trek: The Motion Picture.[3]
At the same Sci-Fi convention where she metFred Phillips, Neill approached men dressed as characters fromPlanet of the Apes after learning that they made their own masks. When she asked them to teach her, one responded: “But you're a girl".[4] This incident became part of her journey to learn all that she could and build her skills and techniques.
Neill credits self teaching, with the addition of other make-up artists showing her tips and tricks. She credits being able to examine the legendary work ofJohn Chambers andFred Phillips, in order to grow as an artist.[5] While she was developing her skills, there was a lack of sharing between her and her male counterparts, as she was a woman and "they didn't want me in there anyway."[3]
In interviews, she has also warned women artists that, generally speaking, the job makes it extremely difficult to juggle being married and having children in the field.[5]
Neill has made several comments on the benefit of using CGI to enhance the makeups created by artists. "CGI is a helpful tool, but will never be the sole method in the field."[3]
Neill served as a judge on theSyfy original seriesFace Off which features makeup artists competing for $100,000.[6]
In 2017, Neill accepted the position of Director of Education atCinema Makeup School inLos Angeles, California.[7]
In 2021, Neill started her own school, Legends Makeup Academy inLos Angeles, California.[8]
Neill has worked on all of the films of thePirates of the Caribbean franchise.Other notable films she has worked on areAustin Powers in Goldmember,The Hunger Games,The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,A.I. Artificial Intelligence,Hook, andEdward Scissorhands.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
