Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards

Overview

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards (MUAHS Awards) are the annual awards presented by IATSE Local 706 to honor outstanding achievement in makeup artistry and hairstyling across motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and live theater. The 13th ceremony took place on February 14, 2026, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, hosted by Rachael Harris. The ceremony was presented by L'Oreal Groupe and Giovanni Eco Chic Beauty, and was livestreamed to viewers worldwide.

Feature film winners at the 13th ceremony included One Battle After Another (2 awards: Best Contemporary Make-Up, Best Contemporary Hair Styling), Sinners (2 awards: Best Period and/or Character Make-Up, Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling), and Frankenstein (1 award: Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics). Television winners included The Studio, Palm Royale, Stranger Things Season 5, Saturday Night Live, Dancing with the Stars, and Skeleton Crew.

The MUAHS Guild has over 2,300 members working in motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, theme parks, and live theater. The guild was chartered in November 1937. The full 2026 MUAHS Awards winners list is published on the Local 706 website.

Eligibility and Submission

The MUAHS Awards are open to productions that employed Local 706 members in makeup and hair styling departments. Submissions are made by department heads or production companies. There are no entry fees for guild members. The awards cover five feature film categories, ten television categories, two commercials and music video categories, and two theatrical production categories.

Feature film categories are split by discipline:

• Best Contemporary Make-Up - Feature Film: Recognizes contemporary beauty and character makeup in modern-day settings.
• Best Period and/or Character Make-Up - Feature Film: Recognizes period-accurate makeup, character transformation, and non-prosthetic character work.
• Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics - Feature Film: Recognizes prosthetic application, creature design, aging effects, and transformation work requiring fabricated appliances.
• Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Feature Film: Recognizes contemporary hair styling in modern-day settings.
• Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling - Feature Film: Recognizes period-accurate hair styling, wig work, and character hair design.

This split ensures that each discipline receives dedicated recognition. A contemporary beauty makeup artist working on a present-day drama competes in a different category than a prosthetic specialist fabricating creature appliances for a genre film.

2026 Feature Film Winners

• Best Contemporary Make-Up: One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) - Heba Thorisdottir, Mandy Artusato
• Best Period and/or Character Make-Up: Sinners (Warner Bros.) - Ken Diaz, Sian Richards, Ned Neidhardt, Allison LaCour, Lana Mora
• Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics: Frankenstein (Netflix) - Mike Hill, Megan Many
• Best Contemporary Hair Styling: One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) - Ahou Mofid, Gina Maria DeAngelis, Sacha Quarles
• Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling: Sinners (Warner Bros.) - Shunika Terry-Jennings, Elizabeth Robinson, Tene Wilder, Jove Edmond, Sherri B. Hamilton

2026 Television Winners

Television categories are split by format and genre:

• Best Contemporary Make-Up (TV Series/Limited): The Studio (Apple TV+) - Jorjee Douglass, Gillian Whitlock, Robin Glaser, Cassie Lyons, James Freitas
• Best Period and/or Character Make-Up (TV Series/Limited): Palm Royale (Apple TV+) - Tricia Sawyer, Marissa Lafayette, Marie DelPrete, Rory Gaudio, Alyssa Goldberg
• Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics (TV): Stranger Things Season 5 (Netflix) - Barrie Gower, Mike Mekash, Duncan Jarman
• Best Contemporary Hair Styling (TV Series/Limited): The Studio (Apple TV+) - Vanessa Price, Alexandra Ford, Lauren McKeever
• Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling (TV Series/Limited): Palm Royale (Apple TV+) - Karen Bartek, Brittany Madrigal, Tiffany Bloom, Anna Quinn, Jill Crosby
• Best Contemporary Make-Up (TV Special/Live): Saturday Night Live (NBC) - Louie Zakarian, Amy Tagliamonti, Jason Milani, Young Bek, Madison Bermudez
• Best Period and/or Character Make-Up/Prosthetics (TV Special/Live): Saturday Night Live (NBC) - Louie Zakarian, Jason Milani, Amy Tagliamonti, Joanna Pisani, Kim Weber
• Best Contemporary Hair Styling (TV Special/Live): Dancing with the Stars (ABC, Disney+) - Marion Rogers, Brittany Spaulding, Amber Nicholle Maher, Florence Witherspoon, Regina Rodriguez
• Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling (TV Special/Live): Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special (NBC) - Jodi Mancuso, Cara Hannah, Amanda Duffy Evans, Gina Ferrucci, Brittany Hartman
• Best Make-Up (Children/Teen TV): Skeleton Crew (Disney+) - Samantha Ward, Sonia Cabrera, Cristina Waltz, Alexei Dmitriew, Adina Sullivan
• Best Hair Styling (Children/Teen TV): Skeleton Crew (Disney+) - Lane Friedman, Nanxy Tong-Heater, Richard DeAlba, Roxane Griffin

Special Honors

The 2026 ceremony presented several special awards:

• Distinguished Artisan Award: Amy Madigan, presented by Weapons director Zach Cregger. The award recognizes an artist whose consistent collaboration with the MUAHS Guild has created memorable characters throughout their career. Madigan currently stars in Weapons, which has grossed more than $269 million worldwide and earned her a second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Previous winners include Allison Janney, Annette Bening, Angela Bassett, and Jon Favreau.
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Make-Up: Greg Nelson, presented by Robert Patrick. Nelson's career spans more than 50 years, with credits including Raging Bull, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Batman Returns, and Death Becomes Her. He has earned an Academy Award nomination, two Emmy Awards, and two additional Emmy nominations.
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Hair Styling: Judy Alexander Cory, presented by Kathy Bates. Cory's 60-year career ranges from Elvis Presley's Clambake to The Matrix, Forrest Gump, and Hook.
• Vanguard Award: Michael Johnston, a pioneering force in children's and teen makeup for more than three decades. Johnston helped define the visual identity of Nickelodeon's most iconic series, including All That, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, Henry Danger, and iCarly.

History

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild was chartered as IATSE Local 706 in November 1937. For decades, makeup and hair styling were recognized within the broader Academy Awards framework, but the specific disciplines within the craft (contemporary vs. period vs. prosthetics, makeup vs. hair) were not individually distinguished.

The MUAHS Awards were first presented in 2014 to provide peer-level recognition across the full spectrum of makeup and hair disciplines. The ceremony has since become a primary precursor to the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The 2026 MUAHS winners in feature categories (One Battle After Another, Sinners, Frankenstein) were all nominated for or shortlisted for the 98th Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

The guild's membership of over 2,300 practitioners evaluates work with a depth of craft understanding that only fellow practitioners possess. This makes the MUAHS Awards the most technically informed assessment of makeup and hair work in the industry.

Significance for Filmmakers

For makeup artists and hair stylists, a MUAHS Award validates craft expertise at the highest peer level. The split between period/character, contemporary, and special effects/prosthetics categories ensures that each discipline's distinct challenges receive dedicated recognition. A prosthetic makeup artist who fabricates and applies silicone appliances for creature design works in a fundamentally different discipline than a contemporary beauty makeup artist matching skin tones for a present-day drama.

For directors and producers, MUAHS nominations identify films where the makeup and hair departments delivered exceptional work. These departments directly affect character credibility, period authenticity, and visual storytelling. The 2026 winners demonstrate the range: Sinners required period-accurate 1930s character makeup and hair styling for a Southern gothic vampire film, while Frankenstein required full prosthetic creature design, and One Battle After Another required contemporary makeup and hair work at scale for a large ensemble cast.

The MUAHS Awards also recognize commercials, music videos, and live theater, reflecting the reality that many Local 706 members work across multiple media. The 2026 commercials winner was Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" music video (makeup by Sarah Tanno, Phuong Tran), and the theatrical production winner was The Monkey King at the San Francisco Opera.

Recent Results (13th MUAHS Awards, February 2026)

• Best Contemporary Make-Up (Film): One Battle After Another - Heba Thorisdottir, Mandy Artusato
• Best Period/Character Make-Up (Film): Sinners - Ken Diaz, Sian Richards, Ned Neidhardt, Allison LaCour, Lana Mora
• Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics (Film): Frankenstein - Mike Hill, Megan Many
• Best Contemporary Hair Styling (Film): One Battle After Another - Ahou Mofid, Gina Maria DeAngelis, Sacha Quarles
• Best Period/Character Hair Styling (Film): Sinners - Shunika Terry-Jennings, Elizabeth Robinson, Tene Wilder, Jove Edmond, Sherri B. Hamilton
• Distinguished Artisan: Amy Madigan
• Lifetime Achievement (Make-Up): Greg Nelson
• Lifetime Achievement (Hair): Judy Alexander Cory
• Vanguard Award: Michael Johnston

Watch

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

• Only Local 706 productions qualify: The MUAHS Awards are open to productions that employed IATSE Local 706 members in makeup and hair styling departments. Productions that used non-union makeup and hair teams are not eligible, even if the work is exceptional. This restricts eligibility to union productions, which excludes most truly independent and international films.
• Five separate feature film categories: Unlike the Academy Awards, which combine all makeup and hair work into a single Best Makeup and Hairstyling category, the MUAHS splits feature films into Contemporary Make-Up, Period/Character Make-Up, Special Make-Up Prosthetics, Contemporary Hair Styling, and Period/Character Hair Styling. A film can win in one category but not another, and the split means different disciplines are evaluated separately.
• Submissions by department heads or production companies: Individual makeup artists cannot submit their own work. Submissions must be made by department heads or production companies. This means a freelance makeup artist who did exceptional work on a production may not be submitted if the department head or production company does not initiate the entry.
• No entry fees for guild members: There are no entry fees, but the production must have employed Local 706 members. The absence of fees lowers the barrier to entry for qualifying productions, but the union requirement is the primary gatekeeper.
• Television, commercials, music videos, and theater are all eligible: The MUAHS Awards cover a broader range of media than most guild awards. Makeup artists who work primarily in commercials, music videos, or live theater can receive recognition, reflecting the reality that many Local 706 members work across multiple media. This breadth can make the ceremony less focused on film than other guild awards.

Prestige Tier

The MUAHS Awards are the primary peer-voted recognition for makeup artists and hair stylists in the US film and television industry. Among guild awards, the MUAHS is the most technically informed assessment of makeup and hair work, as the 2,300+ voting members are all working practitioners who understand the difference between contemporary beauty makeup, period-accurate character work, and prosthetic appliance fabrication. The MUAHS Awards are a strong precursor to the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, with MUAHS feature film winners frequently receiving Oscar nominations or making the shortlist. The five-category split for feature films provides more granular recognition than the single Oscar category, which means a film can win a MUAHS Award in a specific discipline without being the overall Oscar winner. For makeup and hair professionals, a MUAHS Award represents the highest peer-level validation available in their craft. The Distinguished Artisan Award, which recognizes actors whose collaboration with the guild has created memorable characters, bridges the gap between craft recognition and celebrity visibility.

See Also

For understanding how craft departments contribute to production budgets, see Budget Breakdown for Independent Films. To model production costs including makeup department line items, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For evaluating the cost of prosthetic fabrication and specialized makeup against your production budget, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.