Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Cooper.
Hi Tara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I always wanted to be a makeup artist – ever since I saw my grandmother putting on her makeup and getting ready for her day in the morning – before I even knew what a job a was, and I never lost that dream……and here I am. As soon as I turned 16, I got a job at a Garden Botanika which had a makeup line. Then when I turned 18, I beelined it to Foley’s for a job at the makeup counter. I started freelancing with photographers and different makeup lines after that, and I went to strictly freelancing by the time I was 19 and had started college at the University of Texas in Austin. In college, I started out in pre-med, because I thought maybe I wanted to get into research for a makeup company, but I met with my advisor and told her what I really wanted to do, and she directed me towards the theatre department. She told me that I could not only do makeup, but I could also build masks, make wigs, costumes, and fabricate puppets, and I was so sold. I changed my major the very next day. As I continued to freelance, I started working as an adjunct professor of Makeup and Wig Design and Wig Making and as the unofficial wig master at St. Edward’s University in 2007 (until 2024 after designing over 80 productions for the Mary Moody Northen Theater, located on the SEU campus). Along the way, I also continued to work in film, commercial, and live event – working on films like “Prince Avalanche” starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch is 2013, the “Just Breathe” music video with Willie Nelson and his family, and commercials for everything from Jake with State Farm to Cadillac. I eventually started working with the wonderfully creative and fantastically inspiring director Richard Linklater in 2019 on “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Aged Childhood”, then followed that up with 2024’s “Hit Man” starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, and now his next 20-year film project, a film-adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”, starring Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein. Currently, I continue doing theatre, commercial, and film projects. Next up will be “SpongeBob SquarePants: the Musical” for the Magnolia Musical Theater this summer, a Vivien Leigh biopic starring Carla Gugino called “The Florist” this Fall, and a personal art show at the end of the year featuring my puppets, coloring books, paintings, drawings, and masks at the Lydia Street Gallery.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Overall it’s been a relatively smooth road, aside from having to work like a machine for 20 of my almost 25 years of experience. I couldn’t turn down any work for a very, very long time, because once you say no, producers may not call you back, and I never really had any help along the way by my family, so it all always fell on me. Really maybe the initial struggle is just wanting to be an artist in the first place – hahaha – I was really, really poor for the first five years of my career. Honestly though, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I have had so much fun whether it was knee deep in the struggle or not. My job is still the best, and I have no regrets.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist that specializes in makeup, wigs, and hair (and masks and puppets). I am most proud of all of it. I started out by just doing makeup, but in the theatre department in college, you can ‘t just do makeup, so I was forced to learn how to do wigs and hair, and honestly, wigs are now a favorite aspect of my job. I feel like with either wigs or makeup, I’m always constantly learning and getting better. No two jobs are the same, there’s almost always something new, and I take pride in all of my work. Wig work is also a little niche, so it’s just nice to do something interesting and a little different from a lot of other artists. I am now most known for my makeup and wig work in a lot of the different entertainment areas – film, theatre, commercial, etc. For “Hit Man”, I was also the disguise character makeup and wig designer on top of being the makeup department head – so, basically for 2022, I got to design different character looks for Glen Powell to take on for the movie. It was just awesome having everyone see all of my hard work for that one. A real moment of pride.
What were you like growing up?
I was always an artist. I was always one of the best artists in my schools. I’ve always drawn a tremendous amount (I still do) and made things like masks, mixed media sculptures, and puppets. My mom was an artist and I was an introvert, so making art was always my happy place. I always need to be working on something that I thought was going to be cool. To this day, I still consider myself as an artist first, then an artist that does makeup, then a hair artist, puppet artist, etc. etc.
Pricing:
- Prices vary widely by project. I do not do weddings anymore, and personal appointments are case by case.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.taracoopermakeupartist.com
- Instagram: @taracooperartist
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-cooper-6963a74
- Other: taracooperartist@gmail.com
Image Credits
Charley Crockett, Texas Monthly cover: photographer: Jai Lennard. Last Photo: photographer: Logan Zillmer. Hit Man poster, courtesy of Netflix, photographer Brian Bowen Smith.
