Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Rodriguez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story starts in Caracas, Venezuela where I was born and raised by my grandmother and my mother. My parents are divorced and even though my father was still in the picture, most of my childhood and youth were spent with them. I went to college in Caracas and got my degree in Biology, although my passion for human genetics started to migrate into the makeup world thanks to the tutorials on YouTube from creators like NikkiTutorials, Julia Graf, etc. So my first move in this career change was to Paris, France in 2012. I studied photography and doing some makeup for some of my classmates, which led me to revisit my choices and basically turned the hobby into my job. Once I realized that I could do two of my favorite things: makeup and movies, that was it! I wanted to learn more, professionally, not only beauty/editorial but also SFX Makeup. So by fall of 2014, I relocated to Los Angeles, CA and enroll in the Master Program from Cinema Makeup School. During the time being, I’ve met wonderful people in the entertainment industry like Rick Baker, Ve Neill, Eryn Krueger Mekash, among others. Still would love to meet/work with Danessa Myricks one day. After this, I started working on film sets since 2016 and never looked back. My husband, Chris, has been a great part from my journey in California, not only for his unconditional love and support but also because he helped me to connect to some of the producers that I still work with to this date. This industry is all about connections, how reliable you are on your job and being a team player. I consider myself as an introvert person, the movie industry in some way helped to get out of my shell but I also have been very lucky to work with amazing people…most of the time. So in other words, I switched my goal of getting a Nobel Prize to now maybe a nomination for an Oscar or an Emmy, who knows!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wouldn’t say struggles but challenges in a way. First, I’m an immigrant and English is not my first language, obviously. I left Venezuela in 2012 and years later make California my new home. Even though I’m a U.S. Citizen now, my heart is still Venezuelan, so if you see a Venezuelan flag sticker on my makeup kit, now you know why.
Being a freelancer has its pros and cons. Yes, you are your own boss but your job is not 100% steady, because we jump from one project to another. It could be literally a day or two-day to a month of production and that’s it. So income is not always there, but when my calendar is almost fully booked, GREAT!
Of course, the pandemic hit us hard but thankfully we are in a better position and there are more projects coming in.
Another challenge: people. As I mentioned before, I’ve been blessed to work with wonderful makeup artists, actors, directors, producers, crew, etc. But occasionally you encounter with others that are not that nice to work with and that’s when the wrap day is glorious. Not dropping names though. I always say: we’re not perfect but we get close to it by doing our best.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a freelance makeup artist working almost exclusively for the film industry. I’ve done a couple of photoshoots and live shows but most of my work it’s on features and short films. Any genre is good!
I do beauty and SFX Makeup. The kind of makeup that I do most of the time is natural, followed by soft glam, very glam and then character makeup. The latter one is when I do bruises, blood effects, dirt, aging people, etc. That’s the fun part. I can make you look pretty or messy, your choice.
I’m known for having a large makeup kit I guess, I like to be prepared. Or my watercolor tattoo on my left arm maybe? I don’t know, that’s a tricky question.
Every time I tell my story I should feel proud of what I accomplished so far. I’m also proud of putting my home country in a good light. Working on projects that people might see is an incredible feeling, meaning that at least they will be on a streaming platform. Whether the movie is good or bad. A lot of times I didn’t see the final cut on some of my early jobs. However, I know I’m still growing professionally and the best is yet to come.
I might not have a signature look, other than not wearing makeup myself because I prefer to take the time and do makeup on others. I like to treat the makeup trailer/room as a peaceful and fun place. The actors can relax there, if they want to. Also open for conversation and learning from each other. Not sure if that set me apart from others. But I would like to think that people had a nice experience working with me. A Venezuelan biologist turn into makeup artist *insert smile here*
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I’ve always been attracted to arts, could be dancing, music, painting, etc. I played a lot with legos and also video games, probably because I’m only a child. I watched a lot of movies since I was little, most of the time with my grandmother or my parents and later on I would go to the movies by myself. As I mentioned before, I’m an introvert, so making friends was not easy, socialize is a challenge for me but fortunately, I still have my circle of friends from school in Venezuela, college and even here. Not a lot of people though, but they’re special to me.
I’m quiet and probably my best way of expressing myself was either through drawing, fashion, even did pole dancing for a while and now through makeup. Even though I don’t wear makeup all the time, when I do, I tend to go almost drag queen level. Because I love colors, glitter, wigs, rhinestones, etc. It’s the fantasy for me.
I still have an interest in science, that’s why I studied Biology because I was invested in working on Molecular Biology and Human Genetics. I don’t think it was a waste of time, if anything make me smarter and more patient.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kathleenrod.com
- Instagram: @kathleenrod_mua
Image Credits
All pictures were taken by me from different projects
