Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson on Sunday night became the first Black women to win the Oscar award for best makeup and hairstyling.
Neal, Wilson, and Sergio Lopez-Rivera took home statuettes for their work on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play. The trio transformed Viola Davis into Ma Rainey, styling her hair and makeup to give her a 1920s look. Neal was the hair department head and hair and wig designer, while Wilson is Davis’ personal hairstylist and Lopez-Rivera is her personal makeup artist.
“Thank you to our ancestors who put the work in, who were denied, and never gave up,” Neal said during her acceptance speech. “I stand here as Jamika and I break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future — because I can picture Black trans women standing up here, and Asian sisters, our Latina sisters and Indigenous women. I know one day it won’t be unusual or groundbreaking. It will just be normal.”