Linda Flowers is well known throughout Hollywood’s hair and makeup elite, having worked in the industry for more than 30 years as mainly a lead hair designer for many motion pictures, and most recently for The Hunger Games movie franchise.
Trained by styling icons Martin Parsons and Irvin Rusk, Linda first began her career in hairstyling behind the chair and evolved to be one of the most sought after on-set stylists throughout tinsel-town. LInda first made her mark with her first big budget film break working as the department head for the film Fast & Furious. Other film work soon followed, including working on the set of The Social Network, There Will Be Blood and Iron Man 2, and working as the department head of hair for HBO's Entourage.
Along with films, Linda has worked directly with numerous Hollywood A-listers such as Jennifer Aniston, Melissa McCarthy, Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson and even took the time to develop her own popular hot tool, the TopStyler
I recently sat down with Linda in New York City to talk about her career and her thoughts on Sunday evenings Oscars.
Jolene: How many films have you worked on?
Linda: Over 50 major motion pictures!
Jolene: What was your favorite film to work on and why?
Linda: The Hunger Games because of the color work I was able to do and the opportunity to do so many color transformations – like taking Jennifer Lawrence from blonde and brunette to Effie Trinket’s wigs. I also love working with Melissa McCarthy on all her character’s wigs.
Jolene: Tell us a little about the Hunger Games: Catching Fire and how it was to work on that film and those hair looks.
Linda: A tremendous amount of work went into the looks because of the wigs, hair color and color work. It’s like doing a fashion show for 4.5 months – the pace is very intense. We also changed the look a lot for Hunger Games 2 – the older generation in the Capitol was contemporary, but the younger generation was more edgy and Jetson-like.
Jolene: Why have you been a success in this industry?
Linda: I think because I am a good listener and can almost imagine a character as they talk about them. I also try to push things and make the hair stand out on film. The actors also trust me, because they know I will take good care of their hair, no matter what the look.
Jolene: How can everyday stylists get involved in your line of work?
Linda: By getting active in your community! I came from a small town before moving to LA, and would approach shop owners asking them to consider me next time they did ads. I would volunteer my time so see how a photo shoot was done, which helped me to build my confidence, portfolio and also to help me understand the importance of lighting.
Jolene: What were your favorite hair/makeup movies of 2013 and why?
Linda: Catching Fire of course! I also liked the hair in American Hustle and how the looks were exaggerated. Great Gatsby was great too because of their beautiful period wigs.
Jolene: Who do you think should win in the category of Hair & Makeup at this year's Oscars?
Linda: All the nominations this year was very makeup-focused. I personally loved the makeup from Bad Grandpa. It takes quite a bit of skill to do that type of special effects makeup and go out in the community and fool everyone!
Be sure to follow both Linda and American Salon on Sunday Night as we tweet live about the hair looks of the Oscars! Linda will mainly be covering the debut of the Red Carpet looks while American Salon will be tweeting during the ceremony, commenting on those winning looks!
Find us at our Twitter addresses:
Linda Flowers @lindatopstyler
American Salon @americansalon
Hashtag #oscarsbeauty