Elizabeth In Film

Un surprisingly Queen Elizabeth has been portrayed in many films, giving many make up artists and designers the opportunity to create this famous look. Many actresses are willing to go to great extents to portray this Queen, as she was such an inspiration to women not only of that time but now too. I would say her successes as a Queen truly show a woman’s power, and I have enjoyed learning about her. To create the look skills such as aging, bald caps, wigs etc are necessary, meaning this was quite a hard look to recreate. It is a test for many make up artists as you not only need skill but accurate historical input.

Elizabeth- Cate Blanchett- 1998

This film brought Australian actress Cate Blanchett into the lime light when she won a Golden Globe for her performance.  The film was based on Elizabeth’s early years of reign and follows as she embarks upon life as a young Queen. It shows her transformation where she emerges at the end as a Queen who has full power and control of her country. Cate’s portrayal of the Queen was outstanding, and her commitment to the role was amazing. Due to the hairline being very high in those times, to fully commit to the role Cate shaved her hairline back so as to add realism to the movie.  As well as this she bleached the front portion white.

Actress- Cate Blanchett

Costume- Alexandra Byrne

Make up and hair- Anita Burger, Miranda Davidson, Karen Ferguson, Christine Greenwood, Susan Howard, Lisa Pickering, Ivana Primorac, Jenny Shircore, Christine Whitney, Lucy Willis

Jenny won an Oscar for the make up designs in this movie.

Reference: Wikipedia. (). Elizabeth (film). Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_(film). Last accessed 5/12/14.
Catherine Q. O'Neill. (2013). Cate Blanchett Talks Wigs, Brows, and How She Really Gets Into Character. Available: http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2013/11/cate-blanchett-wigs-brows-character-roles.html. Last accessed 5/12/14.
IMDB. (). Elizabeth (1998). Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. Last accessed 5/12/14.

The Golden Age- Cate Blanchett- 2007

This is a sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth and once again Cate Blanchett’s successful portrayal of Elizabeth I lead to a Oscar nomination for best actress and the film won an Academy Award for best costume design. This film follows Elizabeth through her middle years of ruling and concentrates on the threats to her power over religion and politics, including the Spanish Armada. In an interview with UK glamour magazine the Make up and hair team explain what it was like doing the make up for Elizabeth. For instance with the wigs already prepped, it took three hours to get the hair, make up and wardrobe complete for filming and there were 16 wigs in total that all had to fit with the costumes in the movie. To keep the make up looking consistent there would be photographic evidence of the different looks and differed scenes. We even find out the make up they used in this quote:

“To create Elizabeth's white make-up, I prepped the character's skin with MAC Prep and Prime. I then applied Full Coverage Foundation in NW15, and stippled over it with Studio Fix powder foundation. I powdered initially with Shu Uemura loose powder in colorless matte and added MAC loose powder in Porcelaine for a lighter effect, or La Prairie translucent No.1 to soften the tone and the skin texture. I used a mixture of Pinch O' Peach and Fleur Power powder blushes on the cheeks and over the sockets of the eyes. The eyebrows and lashes I bleached almost white, so I defined gently under the eyes with 'Strada' powder colour. For the lips I used a mixture of Lorac's lip tint in Red-Brown, and MAC's crme stick liner in Red Enriched and Portside gently rubbed onto the lips after lip balm.”

Costume designer- Alexandra Byrne

Main Makeup and Hair artists- Jenny Shircore, Jon Hengry Gordon, Joe Hopker, Susan Howard, Morag Ross and Gemma Waugh.

Reference: Wikipedia. (). Elizabeth: The Golden Age . Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth:_The_Golden_Age. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Costumers Guide. (). Elizabeth the Golden Age. Available: http://www.costumersguide.com/cr_elizabeth2.shtml. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Imdb. (). Elizabeth: The Golden Age . Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414055/fullcredits/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Fire Over England 1937 and The Sea Hawk (1940) – Flora Robson

 It is quite a regular thing for actresses to go back to playing Elizabeth as she is such a strong and interesting character to unravel. A film based during Queen Elizabeth’s reign at the time of the Spanish Armada. Although the make up artist was unknown for Fire Over England it is clear that they used a prosthetic nose to create the look. Perc Westmore (who is part of a family of Make up artists) was the make up artist on set for The Sea Hawk.

Costume designer- Rene Hubert, Orry- Kelly

Makeup Artist- Perc Westmore

Reference: Imdb. (). Fire Over England . Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028872/fullcredits/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Wikipedia. (). Fire Over England . Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Over_England. Last accessed 5/12/14.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955)- Bette Davis

The Private Lives OF Elizabeth and Essex was based on Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with Robert Devereux, the 2^nd Earl of Essex. The Film had five Academy Award nominations. Bette was the first Hollywood actress to appear bald on screen and so that the film could be historically accurate to Queen Elizabeth Bette shaved 3 inches of her hair and all of her eyebrows off. Her lips are quite obviously thinned and they have used make up to create dark patches under her eyes. Many were shocked when they saw the make up for this role as Bette was only 31 when filming and the make up made her look very aged. When playing Elizabeth again 25 years later in The Virgin Queen, Bette once again shaves her hair back for the role. However by taking this risk Bette Davis hair did not all grow back straight away meaning she had to wear a nightcap to the Oscars to hide the shaven hairline. Chalky powder is used to create the white face that Elizabeth is known for.

Costume- Orry Kelly

Make up- Perc Westmore

Reference: Wikipedia. (). The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Private_Lives_of_Elizabeth_and_Essex. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Wikipedia. (). Perc Westmore. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perc_Westmore. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Elizabeth R 1971 Glenda Jackson

First Broudcasted on BBC2 from February to March, Elizabeth R was a mini drama series of six episodes that was renowned for its historical accuracy to the Queens life. Glenda endured shaving her hairline and a large amount of make up and prosthetics to create Elizabeth’s look. Glenda Won both Emmies and Baftas for the role. I feel this a very 70’s take on the make up as the rosy cheeks were contoured to the cheekbones, whereas during the Elizabethan era the cheeks would have been more circular.

Costume- Elizabeth Waller

Makeup and Hair- Dawn Alcock and Sandra Shepherd

Reference: Imdb. (). Elizabeth R. Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066652/fullcredits/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Wikipedia. (). Elizabeth R. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_R. Last accessed 5/12/14.

The Virgin Queen Anne Marie Duff 2005

Another TV miniseries, The Virgin Queen was split into four parts on the BBC and was based upon Queen Elizabeth’s life. There was a lot of concentration on her private life rather than the political and religious challenges during her reign. Anne Marie was one of the first actresses to take on the challenge of portraying Elizabeth from the beginning all the way through to her death at the age of 70. Therefore make up and prosthetics were vital to recreate the changing face of Elizabeth. Even false teeth were used for the older Elizabeth. Anne Marie Duff even spoke of the make up “I knew that with the make-up and costume I would look good- the prosthetics not only looked amazing but they gave my face restrictions that it wouldn’t normally have- and we worked on obvious things like vocal differences and the physicality.” For the coronation scene, the designer Amy Roberts did not make the garment, in stead the used the dress Cate Blanchett wore in Elizabeth as it was an exact replica of the original.

Costume: Amy Roberts

Makeup and Hair: Sjaan Gillings, Chris Lyons, Josh Westion, Victoria Bancroft, Sophia Burnage, Neill Gorton, Karen Hartley, Kristyan Mallett, Maureen McGill, Anna Morena and Laura Schiavo.

Reference: wikipedia. (). The Virgin Queen (TV Serial). Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_Queen_(TV_serial). Last accessed 5/12/14.

imdb. (). The Virgin Queen (TV Serial). Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481459/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast. Last accessed 5/12/14.

BBC. (2005). The Virgin Queen. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/29/virgin_duff.shtml. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Elizabeth I- 2005 Helen Mirren

This is a two part series that cover the last 24 years of her reign, both episodes focus on her relationships, one with the Earl of Leicester and one with the Earl of Essex. Helen won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her performance. To become the Queen Helen went through many changes. For her hair she wore a wig and she slightly thinned her mouth down and thickened her eyebrows.

Costume: Mike O’Neill

Make up: Laura Kreivyte, Josh Weston, Fae Hammond, Sue Westwood, Jan Hope-Kavanagh, Gemma Richards.

Reference: Wikipedia. (). Elizabeth I (TV miniseries). Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_(TV_miniseries). Last accessed 5/12/14.

Imdb. (). Elizabeth I (TV miniseries). Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465326/fullcredits/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Jones, O. (2006). Her Majesty. Available: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20060722,00.html. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Shakespeare In Love- 1998 Judi Dench

Although Elizabeth wasn’t the main character in this movie, she does feature. With this being said she still won an Oscar for her role. Even with this minor cameo, Judi went through an extensive amount of make up to perfect the look. Lisa Westcott explains “the Queen is quite old in the film she would have terrible skin- probably from mercury poisoning- so it was covered in makeup and her hair was undoubtedly falling out, so she always wore a wig.” To recreate this look it took 4 hours daily even though she was only in the movie for 8 minutes. The crew was said to have gone silent when she first showed her look.

Make up: Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner

Reference: The Make up Gallery. (). Period: Shakespeare In Love. Available: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/shakespearejd.htm. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Anne. (). Elizabethan Fashion and Times. Available: http://firthpage.tripod.com/rolespage/silfash.html. Last accessed 5/12/14.