Personal Care and Service · Holland code ARE

Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance

Apply makeup to performers to reflect period, setting, and situation of their role.

Also called: Hair and Makeup Designer, Makeup Artist (MUA), Special Effects Makeup Artist (Special Effects MUA), TV and Film Makeup Artist (Television and Film Makeup Artist), Commercial Makeup Artist (Commercial MUA), Prosthetic Makeup Designer, Special Makeup Effects Artist.

O*NET 39-5091.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $97,150; Middle half earn $34,530 to $143,230. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 33% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Clean supplies such as makeup brushes.
Duplicate work precisely to replicate characters' appearances on a daily basis.
Apply makeup to enhance or alter the appearance of people appearing in productions such as movies.
Analyze a script, noting events that affect each character's appearance, so that plans can be made for each scene.
Alter or maintain makeup during productions as necessary to compensate for lighting changes or to achieve continuity of effect.
Confer with stage or motion picture officials and performers to determine desired effects.
Requisition or acquire needed materials for special effects, including wigs, beards, and special cosmetics.
Study production information, such as character descriptions, period settings, and situations, to determine makeup requirements.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking3.8 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
Active Listening3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Fine Arts3.7 / 5
Design3.5 / 5
Communications and Media3.5 / 5
Administration and Management2.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic56
Investigative6
Artistic95
Social33
Enterprising35
Conventional34

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

body artist · DE Körperkünstler/Körperkünstlerin · FR tatoueur/tatoueuse
make-up and hair designer · DE Maskenbildner/Maskenbildnerin · FR coiffeur-maquilleur/coiffeuse-maquilleuse
make-up artist · DE Visagist/Visagistin · FR maquilleur/maquilleuse

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Beauticians and related occupations (6222)90,100 employed
Arts officers, producers and directors (3416)113,500 employed
Other elementary services occupations n.e.c. (9269)45,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Service and sales workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Service and sales workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€32,957
Sweden	€32,596
Netherlands	€29,198
Austria	€29,068
Germany	€27,471
Ireland	€26,978
Italy	€24,995
France	€24,971
Spain	€18,303
Portugal	€10,656
Poland	€7,579

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.46. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (39-5091).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test