Black Beauty Roster and Warner Bros. Discovery Announce New Program for Beauty Industry Professionals

Black Beauty Roster has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to develop 12 leading beauty professionals to diversify talent within the entertainment Industry.

Black Beauty Roster (BBR) has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to announce a new, one-of-a-kind program that will provide opportunities for hairstylists and makeup artists that come from historically marginalized communities to position themselves for a department head role within the entertainment industry.

The program was developed from the BBR and WBD original partnership in February that included hair and makeup staffing support for WBD productions via BBR’s network, workshops targeted towards executives, decision makers on allyship and advocacy, as well as panel discussions focused on diversity behind-the-camera. The program, which kicked off in November, will gather the specially selected beauty professionals virtually over four months. 

“We are excited for our program with Warner Bros. Discovery to help create more leadership opportunities behind the camera in hair and makeup,” says Maude Okrah, founder of Black Beauty Roster. “We are bringing attention to diversifying not only the beauty professionals in the trailers, but to the management positions— hair and makeup department heads who ultimately hire the beauty teams. Together we will grow, develop and guide the participants through hands-on training that will impact them, and the entertainment industry for years to come. Our goal is that by the end of the program, the participants feel confident and well prepared to land their dream roles in TV, film and beyond and in turn inspire other creatives to do the same.” 

Maude Okrah is the founder of Black Beauty Roster (BBR), a diversity and inclusion platform that connects the TV and film, fashion and beauty industry with diverse talent while providing education to the broader industry.

The list of exceptional talent includes: Denise Baker (hair/LA), Gabby Navarrete (makeup/LA), Charles Zambrano (makeup/NYC), Allison LaCour (makeup/NOLA), Tiffany Daugherty (hair/LA), Kauilani Goodwyn (hair/LA), Amber Hamilton (hair/LA), Se’Anne Simon (makeup/NOLA), Khalieha Cunningham (hair/Canada), Krista Haan (makeup/Canada), Amber Crombach (makeup/Canada) and Marecel Callagan (makeup/Canada).

The program will include guest instructors that are composed of leading hair and makeup professionals in the industry including: Barry Lee Moe (Dept. Head Hairstylist; 3x Emmy Winner), *Vonda K. Morris (Dept. Head, Makeup), *Zabrina Matiru (Dept. Head, Makeup), *Porshawna Mosely (Dept. Head, Hair), Angie Wells (Dept. Head, makeup; 2x Emmy Nominee), Marietta Carter-Narcisse, Dept. Head, Makeup) *professionals who have worked as dept. heads on WBD-affiliated projects. All guest speakers will speak to their specific experiences.

“This key content partnership has led a to-first-of-its-kind industry program designed to broaden the network of available hair and makeup heads, which really shows the symbiotic relationship between content, programs and our productions,” said Yvette Urbina, VP of Content & Production, DEI Warner Bros. Discovery. “We have not only expanded opportunities across the enterprise with this partnership, but we have seen real outcomes including industry awareness and connecting talent to our production to providing internal teams education via our training webinar and direct support site with BBR.”  

For more information about Black Beauty Roster, visit their website and follow on Instagram: @blackbeautyroster

[Photos courtesy of Black Beauty Roster]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk