Hannah Gates: Movie Makeup Artist 

When Hannah Gates is working on a film set, she drinks a lot of coffee. As a full-time hair and makeup artist, it’s not unusual for her to work a 12-hour day or night. It’s a career filled with unexpected adventures made up of ever-changing directors, crew members, and storylines. Hannah embraces the opportunity to be artistically creative while transforming actors into characters. Her portfolio of movie makeovers includes adding prosthetic injuries, making murder victims look dead, altering facial hair, and covering lots of tattoos. 

“Covering tattoos keeps me employed,” Hannah said with a laugh. “Tattoos create all kinds of copyright issues for filmmakers.” 

Dirt, Grime, and Twisters 

During the filming of Twisters, Hannah was employed to work with the background department, making sure extras and stunt performers had the right “look,” without being distracting to the main action. Her enduring memory of that movie filming is the amount of dirt and grime she kept layering on. 

“My job isn’t always about high glam, although I enjoy creating beauty,” Hannah said. “I occasionally do side jobs such as prom or wedding makeup, but mostly I collaborate with directors to understand their vision for their characters.” 

Hannah recently worked with director, Rick Warren, on Masterpiece, a murder mystery filmed in Edmond. Rick wanted the crime scene actress to look like she’d been dead for several hours. Hannah researched blood circulation loss to create the correct color palette: less red, more pale, more blue. 

“I used to be squeamish about looking at those kinds of images,” Hannah said, “but it is necessary to get the most realistic result. Later, when I watch the screening of the movie, it’s so satisfying to see that I got it right.” 

It’s been a dream come true for Hannah to take her artistic talents beyond working in a hair salon. She confesses to being the kid in kindergarten who got in trouble for braiding her classmate’s hair, and she still has the natural desire to help others achieve their ideal look, and in her profession, that perfect look often means adding wrinkles, wounds, dirt, and grime. 

On the set, Hannah carries specific makeup bags for each actor, plus a “just in case” bag of extra supplies, bandages, deodorant, and hand sanitizer. “I guess you could say I’m the unofficial caretaker of the cast and crew. I’m like a walking CVS.” 

Breaking Into Show Business 

After high school, Hannah enrolled in filmmaking at a community college in St. Louis, which taught her the craft of storytelling with a camera. In hindsight, Hannah believes this gave her valuable insight into directors’ preferences. Next, she made a spontaneous move to Los Angeles to study makeup and gain film industry experience. In 2019 she came to Oklahoma City, where she joined the local stagehand union. “When a show comes to town and needs extra help, I’m on the roster, so I often get called.” 

In addition to Twisters, Hannah has worked on American Underdog, the 2021 multi-award-winning film, Minari, filmed in Tulsa, and the 2023 movie, The Line. She’s never sure what film will come next, which adds to the intrigue of her career. “It’s a really wild industry, but very rewarding. I love it! It can be very exciting, and I forget I’m working, and sometimes it gets very repetitive,” Hannah laughed. “Then, coffee helps.” 

You can follow Hannah on Instagram @hannahgatescreates.