Oprah’s longtime makeup artist
His celebrity roster included Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Halle Berry: ‘He was as big as it gets in that world’
As her personal makeup artist for more than 20 years, Reggie Wells greeted Oprah Winfrey and, well, just about all the women on the set of her show — and in his life — with a big “Hey, Mary!”
A slew of other celebrities who smiled at the term of endearment before Mr. Wells set in with his brushes, pencils and creams included Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Halle Berry, Joan Rivers and former first lady Michelle Obama, but the list goes on and on.
“Reggie Wells was an artist who used his palette of talent to create beauty no matter the canvas,” Winfrey said in an emailed statement. “For many years he was my makeup artist. He called me and everyone he considered a friend ‘Mary.’ He always made me feel beautiful. Ooh my, how we’d laugh and laugh during the process. He was an astute observer of human behavior and could see humor in the most unlikely experiences.”
Mr. Wells’ niece, Kristina Conner, mused: “Why did he call us all Mary? I don’t know, it’s just something he did and was known for.”
Mr. Wells died from natural causes Jan. 8 in Baltimore, where he grew up. He was 76.
“He was as big as it gets in that world — a legend,” said Roosevelt Cartwright, a longtime friend who did makeup for guests who appeared on Winfrey’s show. “He did them all at some point ... but his main client, his full-time client for years and years, was Oprah.”
Mr. Wells traveled the country and the world with Winfrey.
From his north suburban home, he would commute to the Near West Side (now demolished) Harpo Studios with his toolkit of makeup that hardly left his side.
Winfrey featured Mr. Wells on her show to talk about makeup techniques and regularly referenced his work.
“He did her makeup while she talked on the phone; it took him about an hour,” Cartwright said. “But he also could keep Oprah in stitches. He was a joker, an artist, a lovable person.”
In 1995, Mr. Wells won an Emmy for outstanding makeup for his work on the show.
“He was a wonderful and very talented man,” said George Burns, who worked as Winfrey’s longtime photographer.
Mr. Wells was born Dec. 2, 1947, in Baltimore to John and Ada Wells, according to History Makers, a nonprofit organization that chronicles the history of well-known and overlooked African Americans, and interviewed Mr. Wells.
“When he started out in the business there weren’t so many complexions and tones in makeup for African American skin,” Conner said, noting her uncle made his own makeup early in his career. “He pioneered this way to blend and enhance our features and became known in the industry for being able to capture this.”
Andre Walker, Winfrey’s longtime hairdresser, said on social media: “He was a genius with makeup and a legend in the industry. And a great partner to work with. He was also a genius at making me laugh, I mean the deep-down belly laugh. A one of a kind person! I will miss you tremendously. Thank you for the memories.”
Art Smith, Winfrey’s former chef, commented on the post: “I adored Reggie. [He] was a wonderful funny talented person! God bless his soul.”
Mr. Wells, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Maryland Institute College of Art, taught in the Baltimore Public School system before moving to New York City in 1976, where he worked at department store makeup counters for several years.
He got his start in the entertainment industry as a makeup artist for a Jordache jeans advertising campaign, according to History Makers.
He first did Winfrey’s makeup for a cover shoot of Essence magazine, Cartwright said.
“He had a true impact on the industry and mentored a lot of makeup artists,” his niece said.
In 2000, Mr. Wells published the book “Face Painting: African American Beauty Techniques from an Emmy Award Winning Makeup Artist.”
In 2007, Mr. Wells spoke to the Sun-Times about makeup seminars he was offering for $300 — a price he boasted was worth it because attendees received $700 worth of beauty products.
“They’re getting all of my favorite things. I’m not Oprah. I can’t give you a car,” he joked.
Mr. Wells moved back to Baltimore in 2016 to help look after his now-deceased father, Cartwright said.
Mr. Wells provided free makeovers and juicy stories about the celebrities he’d worked on to women who lived at the same senior care facility where his father lived, according to a 2017 story in the Baltimore Sun.
“What I learned from Oprah is why I am doing this today,” he told the Baltimore daily. “I’m doing this for the forgotten people of families. I’m taking unknown mothers and grandmothers and giving them the type of makeovers that Oprah would [get].”