Watch Academy Award For Makeup Video

The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Oscar given to the best achievement in makeup and hair-styling for film. Usually, only three films are nominated each year rather than five as in most categories. The exception is in the early 1980s, when there were only two nominees; and in 1999, when there were four nominees. The competitive category was created in 1981 as the Academy...  MORE

The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Oscar given to the best achievement in makeup and hair-styling for film. Usually, only three films are nominated each year rather than five as in most categories. The exception is in the early 1980s, when there were only two nominees; and in 1999, when there were four nominees. The competitive category was created in 1981 as the Academy Award for Best Makeup, after the Academy received complaints that the make-up work in The Elephant Man was not going to be honored. No award was given to The Elephant Man however, but an entire category dedicated to honoring make-up effects in film was created for subsequent ceremonies. Previously, make-up artists were only eligible for special achievement awards for their work. This is one of the categories with different stages of nominating. There is a prelimary list of nominees after they are screened by the members of the branch and then they choose from the pre-nominees what the final nominees will be. Then the whole membership of the academy votes on the winner. In 2012, the category was renamed to its current name for use in the 85th Academy Awards and onward. LESS