Kelcey Fry describes herself as one of the rare few professional makeup artists who didn’t grow up dreaming of being a makeup artist. She started as a hairdresser and then went into cosmetic sales, where she began doing photo shoots and freelance makeup jobs. In the late 1980s, Kelcey decided to pursue a makeup career and headed for Hollywood. One of her first stops was the Joe Blasco Makeup Artist Training Center, where she hoped to enroll in classes to expand her craft. After reviewing her impressive portfolio, the school instead offered to train her as one of their instructors, and soon after, Mr. Blasco took her on as an apprentice.
Impressed with the students Kelcey turned out, an ABC-TV department head called her in for an interview and convinced her that working on a series would give Kelcey more credibility with her students. She began work on General Hospital and was part of the department that won the 1985 daytime Emmy award for makeup. Working backstage at the Comedy Awards, Kelcey met comedian Lily Tomlin and was invited to travel with her on the publicity tour for In Search for Intelligent Life. From there, Kelcey met and worked with Academy Award–winner Helen Hunt on projects prior to her success on Mad About You, and Kelcey was Diane Keaton’s personal makeup artist for many years. She was also the personal makeup artist to numerous TV and movie stars, including Donald Sutherland (Horrible Bosses), Minnie Driver (The Riches, Take), and Nancy Travis (Almost Perfect).
Kelcey’s career highlights include films such as The Artist, Hitchcock, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Pirates of the Caribbean I and II, Something’s Gotta Give, and The Soloist. Her TV credits include Six Feet Under (which earned her an Emmy nomination), General Hospital (daytime Emmy award), The Last Tycoon and Glee (primetime Emmy awards), along with countless TV commercials, magazines, and talk shows.
Through it all, Kelcey taught with Joe Blasco and his schools for more than 20 years and participated in his textbook, The Professional Makeup Artist. She continued teaching as a guest artist for Blasco, Fred Segal, MAC Pro, and numerous others.
Interviewed by Winn Claybaugh, Kelcey confidently draws on her 30+ years of experience to share the secrets for succeeding in any career while keeping your head and heart balanced.
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