2021 Oscar Predictions: MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING (January)

Erik Anderson January 25, 2021

Things are moving in makeup and hairstyling this month ahead of the official Oscar shortlists coming February 9.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom makes a big move to the top spot for January and the extreme makeup in Bill & Ted Face the Music and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm also climb, along with the wide range of hair and makeup in The United States vs Billie Holiday.

A big batch of newcomers enter this month including Mank (which should have been on here sooner), Emma. and the cotton candy rainbow look of Promising Young Woman.

Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Makeup and Hairstyling for January.

Green – moves up; Red – moves down; Blue – new entry this month

1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Matiki Anoff (makeup department head), Mia Neal (hair department head), Larry M. Cherry (hair department head)

2. Bill & Ted Face the Music (Orion Pictures)
Bill Corso (makeup department head), Kevin Yagher (special makeup effects artist)

3. Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix) (Netflix)
Eryn Krueger Mekash (makeup department head), Patricia Dehaney (hair department head), Matthew Mungle (prosthetic designer)

4. The United States vs Billie Holiday (Hulu)
Ronald J. Wolfe (hair department head), Charles Gregory Ross (hair stylist: Ms. Day, wig designer, hair department head) Laini Thompson (makeup department head)

5. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
Katy Fray (makeup department head), Lisa Layman (makeup department head), Tyler Ely (hair department head)

6. Mank (Netflix)
Kimberley Spiteri (hair department head), Gigi Williams (makeup department head)

7. Mulan (Disney+)
James MacKinnon, Denise Kim

8. Emma. (Focus Features)
Marese Langan

9. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Jean Black (key makeup artist), Kelvin Trahan (key hair stylist)

10. Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Angela Wells (makeup department head), Daniel Curet (hair department head)

Other Contenders (alphabetical by film)

Ammonite (Neon)
Ivana Primorac (hair and makeup designer), Charlotte Rogers (key hair and makeup artist)

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (Warner Bros)
Nominees TBD

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix)
Emma Scott (hair designer / makeup designer), Gabor Kerekes (hair supervisor / makeup supervisor), Sharon Martin (hair stylist: Ms. McAdams, makeup artist: Ms. McAdams)

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)
Sian Richards (makeup department head), Rebecca Woodfork (hair department head)

Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros)
Sharon A. Martin, Laura Blount, Kat Fa

The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Nominees TBD

Pinocchio (Roadside Attractions)
Nominees TBD

The Prom (Netflix)
Eryn Krueger Mekash (makeup department head), Chris Clark (hair department head), J. Roy Helland (hair stylist: Ms. Streep / makeup artist: Ms. Streep)

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Louise McCarthy (makeup department head) Nathan Busch (hair department head)

The Witches (HBO Max)
Nominees TBD

Wonder Woman 1984 (HBO Max/Warner Bros)
Jan Sewell (makeup and hair designer), Sarah Brock (makeup artist to Gal Gadot)

Image courtesy of Focus Features

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.