After 18 years and many hair-styles, Johnny Wright and NBC News anchor Tamron Hall have developed a bond that helped Wright launch his career, and led to Hall’s signature cut.
Tamron Hall: I was hosting an event and Johnny came up to me and said, “I have to tell you something. I had a dream that I did your hair.”
Johnny Wright: [Interrupts] No, I was watching TV—she was on Fox [in Chicago] doing The Bottom Line and I said, “I’m gonna do her hair one day.” Two weeks later I met her.
Hall: I told him, “You can do my hair, but if you mess it up, you will never do anybody else’s hair again.”
Wright: She said, “If you mess my hair up, you will never do hair in the city of Chicago again!”
Hall: I made an appointment, but I got the flu and canceled. He thought I just didn’t want him to do my hair. We rescheduled. We hit it off and he has been doing my hair ever since. We’ve gone blond, put in weaves, tried wigs—we’ve done everything. He’s been incredible. There’s a unique relationship between a woman and her hairstylist: It’s intimate and we protect it. So when he started with the First Lady, I was so proud of him, but I was a little jealous [laughs]. But he’s doing so many amazing things now and that makes me very proud.
This article was orignally published in the September issue of ESSENCE magazine, on newsstands now.