From the first modern make-up artists to today’s digital trailblazers, LGBTQ+ creatives have been at the heart of beauty’s evolution.
They’ve redefined glamour, challenged gender norms and proved that make-up is not about hiding who you are, but expressing it.
As Pride Month celebrates identity and visibility, these icons remind us that the beauty industry would not look the way it does today without queer brilliance.
1. Way Bandy
Often described as one of the world’s first make-up artists, Way Bandy helped create the profession as we know it today.
In 1966, he studied at the Christine Valmy Beauty School – the first aesthetician school in the US – where he was asked to teach make-up application, something entirely new in New York at the time.
Bandy became known for his flawless, precise technique and went on to paint the faces of Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, Farrah Fawcett and First Lady Nancy Reagan. His work helped elevate make-up from backstage craft to creative art form.
When he died in 1986, the AIDS crisis was devastating the LGBTQ+ community.
In a climate of secrecy and stigma, Bandy made a powerful decision. He instructed his lawyer to list his death as AIDS-related in his obituary. It was an act of defiance and courage at the time, aimed at replacing fear and shame with honesty and understanding.
His legacy lives on through the generations of artists he inspired, including Kevyn Aucoin, Troy Surratt and Bobbi Brown, in the very idea of what it means to be a modern-day make-up artist.
2. Nikkie de Jager (NikkieTutorials)
Nikkie de Jager has been reshaping beauty since uploading her first YouTube video in 2008. Her 2015 viral hit, The Power of Make-up, racked up over 40 million views and challenged the idea that make-up is about insecurity rather than creativity.
In 2019, she was appointed Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Global Artistry Advisor, cementing her place in the industry.
In 2020, de Jager shared that she is a transgender woman. Though she was forced into coming out after being blackmailed, she transformed a moment of threat into one of empowerment. By living openly, she became a global role model, showing millions what confidence, authenticity and joy can look like.
Today, de Jager stands not just as a make-up icon, but as a trailblazer for trans visibility in mainstream beauty.
3. Kevyn Aucoin
Kevyn Aucoin redefined glamour in the Nineties and remains one of the most influential make-up artists of all time. Working with icons like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Cher, he brought a fresh, luminous approach to beauty that celebrated individuality over perfection.
He went on to write a series of influential books that shared professional make-up techniques including contouring – a method that was largely unknown in mainstream culture at the time, despite having long been used in drag and stage performance.
Aucoin believed make-up was transformative art. His books, Making Faces and Face Forward, taught a generation that beauty was about storytelling, not symmetry. He championed diversity long before it became an industry buzzword, featuring drag queens, trans women and people of all genders in his work.
After passing away in 2002 at the age of 40 due to kidney and liver failure, his legacy lives on through Kevyn Aucoin Beauty and in every artist who sees make-up as a form of self-expression rather than correction.
4. Mario Dedivanovic
Best known as the architect of Kim Kardashian’s signature look, Mario Dedivanovic has changed how the world applies make-up.
His sculpted and flawless style popularised the “soft-glam” aesthetic, characterised by warm contouring, fluffy lashes and bronzed eyes, which helped usher in the era of social-media-make-up.
After starting off as the Kardashian’s go-to make-up artist, Dedivanovic then launched his own luxury beauty line, Makeup By Mario.
What sets Dedivanovic apart is his commitment to education. Through his MasterClass tutorials and online content, he’s shared professional techniques with millions, opening up an industry that once felt closed-off and exclusive.
As an openly gay artist at the top of his field, Dedivanovic represents a generation of LGBTQ+ creatives who built global influence through skill, community and digital connection.
5. RuPaul
There is no denying RuPaul’s impact on beauty, drag and culture.
In 1994, RuPaul became the first drag queen to front a major cosmetics campaign when he starred in MAC’s Viva Glam, raising funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS.
But RuPaul’s most powerful legacy is RuPaul’s Drag Race. Since 2009, the show has given drag artists a global platform, celebrating make-up as performance, identity and art. It has introduced millions to the idea that beauty has no gender, no rules and no single look.
Hundreds of gay, bisexual, non-binary and trans performers have competed, and the show continues to evolve – welcoming its first trans man drag queen, Gottmik, in 2021.
Through RuPaul, beauty became louder, bolder and freer, and an entire generation learned that glamour belongs to everyone.
Originally published at The Independent – Lifestyle
