For a series about a young working-class woman who gets impregnated by her college professor and must find a way to make ends meet, to be described as “fun” seems paradoxical. But in the television adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s best-selling novel Margo’s Got Money Troubles, the hair and makeup department’s main task was to bring Margo’s (Elle Fanning) OnlyFans alter ego, a sexy, insatiable green alien named HungryGhost, to life. “It was crazy but really enjoyable work,” says Erin Ayanian, head of the makeup department and Fanning’s longtime collaborator. “We had a blast.”
Before they could tackle HungryGhost, everyday Margo — the 20-year-old daughter of a former Hooters waitress and a pro wrestler from Southern California — first had to be established. “It’s really important to represent a person and let there be flaws so that she looks like an average person,” explains Ayanian, who relied on minimal touches, adding only subtle references to Margo’s mother, Shyanne (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), in the form of eyeliner and lip gloss. “Even if the character isn’t aware of it in context of the story, I wanted there to be a flavor of the fact that she was raised by Shyanne.” Hair-wise, department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh wanted to show the struggle of being a new mom. “Elle has a natural texture with a bit of curl to it, so I thought it would be nice to lean into that,” says McIntosh. “Having that texture, we had more room to play — from messy, unwashed, scraped up into scrunchies to a more polished look.”
