![]() He and Root were broke, living in an apartment that often had no heat. The first year he was in New York, Aucoin did makeup on test models for free to build up his portfolio. Fearing for his life if he stayed in Louisiana, he moved to New York City with his then-boyfriend Jed Root, who sometimes posed as his manager. All three men opted for the security office, where they were beaten by security personnel. A security guard approached them and said "upstairs or downtown"-meaning they could be taken to the store's security office or be arrested. Kevyn and two male friends went to Godchaux's, a local department store, to browse the newest makeup. He soon experienced the homophobia he'd endured in Lafayette. In 1982, Aucoin moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, thinking a larger city could help build his career as a makeup artist. His mother Thelma recalled, "It was $30 for a makeup lesson, and these were women who paid $3,000 for a dress, but they'd never let him." ![]() But women were uncomfortable with a man doing their makeup. Īucoin then worked in a small corner of an exclusive women's store in Lafayette. Instead, his self-taught skills resulted in his becoming the instructor at age 18. He then enrolled in cosmetology school to take a makeup class. When he was chased by some classmates in a truck, he dropped out. In one instance, a teacher spanked his bare buttocks in class, which Aucoin later regarded as sexual abuse. Īucoin was relentlessly bullied in school. His parents were unaware of their son's sexual orientation his mother later said, "I didn't think Kevyn was a sissy I just thought he was a gentle child." Years later, his parents became staunch advocates for LBGTQ rights, and started a chapter of P-FLAG in Lafayette. The guilt of stealing and fear of getting caught made him stop. Afraid to buy makeup, he would shoplift it. His three siblings, Carla, Kim, and Keith, were adopted as well.Īucoin was interested in makeup from the time he was a child, and frequently did his sisters' makeup and photographed the results with a Polaroid camera-something he'd do throughout his career. Born to a teenage single mother, he was adopted as an infant by Isidore Adrian Aucoin and Thelma (née Melancon) Aucoin. 3 Celebrity work, writing, and appearancesĪucoin was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana.Aucoin, often noted as being decades ahead of his contemporaries, is considered to be one of greatest make-up artists of the modern age. He authored several industry-defining books with makeup techniques including facial contouring, which was relatively unknown in popular culture at the time, but pioneered and used in drag culture and stage makeup for decades prior. ![]() In the 1990s, Aucoin was wholly responsible for the "sculpted" look of many celebrities and top models, including Whitney Houston, Cher, Madonna, Cindy Crawford, Liza Minnelli, Courtney Love, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Naomi Campbell, Tori Amos, and Vanessa Williams. Kevyn James Aucoin ( / oʊ ˈ k w æ̃/ Febru– May 7, 2002) was an American make-up artist, photographer and author. Kidney and liver failure due to acetaminophen toxicity
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