In April, Kerry Washington made her producing debut with HBO’s Confirmation, where she starred as Anita Hill, the attorney and University professor who testified against Judge Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment following his Supreme Court nomination.
At Wednesday night’s premiere of Starz’s hit drama, Power, celebrity makeup artist, Anita Gibson talks about transforming Kerry Washington into Anita Hill.
“It was amazing to see Kerry in a whole different way,” Gibson, who has worked with Washington in the past, tells ESSENCE.
Washington has thoroughly embraced the fashion world, even playing fashion forward “fixer,” Olivia Pope – who is never without a power coat or Prada bag – on ABC’s Scandal.
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“She transformed herself totally away from being fashionista Kerry Washington to this kind of homely, Oklahoma mid-westerner who’s like, you know, ‘I just have this fuchsia lip on and let’s go,’” explains Gibson.
While Confirmation is a serious and important period piece on the abuse that was ignored, and at times excused, against women in the workplace, Gibson shares that she had “fun” working on set and watching Washington transform into a character whose power is expressed in a visually subtle way.
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