Shu Uemura

Shu Uemura (植村 秀, Uemura Shū^?, June 19, 1928 – December 29, 2007) (Japanese pronunciation: [ɯeː↓muɽa ɕɯː]) was a Japanese make-up artist and founder of the cosmetics line which bears his name.

A native of Tokyo, Shu Uemura reportedly first became interested in hairstyling and make up as a teenager while recovering from a severe illness which left him bedridden. He enrolled at the Tokyo Beauty Academy, becoming the only male student in a class of 130 pupils.

His first experience in film make-up occurred during the filming of 1957's Joe Butterfly, which was partially shot in Japan. Uemura left Japan in the late 1950s to try to break into the film and television make-up business.

Uemura's big break came on the set of the 1962 film, My Geisha. The film's regular make up artist fell ill and Uemura, who was working as a Hollywood beautician at the time, was called in to fill in for the sick artist. Uemura gained critical acclaim for transforming actress Shirley MacLaine, a Caucasian, into a Japanese woman. He received praise from both My Geisha's filmmakers and its cast, including MacLaine. He soon became one of Hollywood's favorite artists. He began working with well-known Hollywood personalities, usually as a make-up artist apprentice, including Edward G. Robinson, Frank Sinatra, and Lucille Ball. Among his notable early work was on Frank Sinatra's 1965 film, None but the Brave.

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