Sam McKnight

04/23/20 • 38 min

‘These days everyone wants to put cameras everywhere. I refuse to have them in the dressing room, because that is sacrosanct. Those are the two hours where the person in the chair becomes the person that’s going to be in front of the camera that day. Sometimes that’s themselves, sometimes it’s somebody very different. It’s not just about the physical act of doing the hair and the make-up, it’s the psychological act of becoming.’

I’m joined by the legendary hair stylist Sam McKnight. Sam’s career has taken him all over the world and seen him work with every noteworthy publication, transforming the most high profile people going, including Princess Diana, with whom Sam worked for 7 years, during which time he famously created that iconic shorter, slicked back ‘do.

In this episode, we talk about his journey from cleaning windows as a boy to being the most in demand hairdresser in the business, his enduring love of gardening (including how the scents of said garden have influenced his Hair by Sam McKnightrange), and how his job is as much about being a grounding confidante as it is about doing the hair itself.

Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

'I just feel a bit like "why do I think I'm entitled to look younger than I am?" I am 40. I don't actually want to look younger than I am, I just want to look like a good version of where I'm at. For me, botox would not be the path to looking like a good version of me now. I don't really mind if my friends or people I meet think "oh she looks her age." That doesn't freak me out. I just think "well, yeah, that's as it should be."'

Singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis Bextor joins me on this episode to discuss her work and home life, including how she balances having five children with performing, realising that fake tan just didn't suit her, how she approached that huge burst of fame in her early 20s, and the joys of Julie Andrews, Grease, Elvis, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Deepica Mutyala

'I would see not just in American media, but in Indian media, which actually hurts me more, that fair was considered beautiful. And it was the only thing considered beautiful. I felt like I had to look like that to ever be accepted or thought of as beautiful or to find friendship or love. I love my skin colour so much now that I really, really want girls, men, anyone growing up today to recognise that.'

Deepica Mutyala knew from a young age that she would shrug off the expectations place on her and instead forge her own path. That vision - combined with a steely determination and courage to follow her gut instinct - propelled her up the career ladder which started in Ohio working at Victoria's Secret, and sees her currently at the helm of the community and cosmetics company, Live Tinted.

In today's episode, we talk about how she has achieved so much so quickly, what the cost of working at that intensity is, how her parents responded to her not taking the route they'd hoped she might when younger, and why she decided she had to leave New York.

Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.