GET TO KNOW MARIETTA
“Having worked with Marietta Carter-Narcisse on Tina: What’s Love Got to Do With It, I had the utmost confidence that she could capture the period and give me the beauty as well as real life Whitney. That’s one department that was covered and allowed me to concentrate on the million other decisions."
-Angela Bassett
Actress/Director
Marietta Carter-Narcisse, internationally renowned educator, and veteran celebrity makeup artist, has a passion for sharing beauty that’s apparent in everything she does -- whether she’s standing with a color palette in hand, brush poised before a famous face ready to be made up, or lecturing before a classroom, training a whole new generation of makeup artists.
Carter-Narcisse launched her career as an assistant wardrobe stylist to her younger brother, Ian M. Carter, during The Commodores’ 1983 European Tour. Through him, she met and toured with Natalie Cole as her image consultant and personal assistant. This led to a string of hit music videos, commercials, television shows and a successful career as one of the most sought-after makeup artists in motion pictures. She has amassed an extensive list of film credits that include the upcoming NAT GEO’s limited series Genius: Aretha, John Singleton's BET project Rebel, Lifetime Television’s remake of Beaches and Lifetime's 2015 movie Whitney, Sparkle, Baby Boy, Eve’s Bayou, Tina: What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Malcolm X, Boyz ‘N The Hood, Ghost,and numerous others. The list of actors she has worked with reads like a who's who in entertainment, from Angela Bassett, Denzel Washington, Michelle Pfeiffer, Whoopi Goldberg, Cindy Crawford Jordin Sparks, Nia Long, Danielle Mone Truitt to personal makeup artist for Samuel L. Jackson for many years, the list goes on and on.
She holds a Master of Science Degree in Higher Education and current cosmetology licenses in both California and Florida. She is a voting member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Television Academy, a former member of the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Branch Executive Board, a member of the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild I.A.T.S.E Local 706 – and a former master educator for Make Up For Ever's Film & Television Academy at Cite du Cinema in Saint Denis, France. Carter-Narcisse has also authored two books pertaining to the film and television industry--The little Brown Book - Buzzwords & Lingo - TV, FILM, PRINT, RETAIL and The Official Film & Television Weekly Planner, now in its seventh year of publication. She also offers online educational classes via Marietta’s Virtual Make-up Academy.
A humanitarian at heart, Carter-Narcisse is passionate about her volunteer efforts. Upon relocating from Los Angeles to South Florida in 2004, she immediately joined the parent association of the Lycée Franco Américain and The International School of Broward (ISB), the French schools her son attended. As the first chairperson of ISB she raised in excess of $25,000 through spearheading numerous fundraising events and activities. The fundraising events included an annual walk-a-thon, several food and clothing drives for Haiti, publicity for the school and an annual yearbook. She is a former board member of Dress for Success Miami, a non-profit organization that outfits needy women entering the workplace. In addition, she has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity –Women’s Building Project.
In 2016 she received Best Contemporary Makeup Nomination: Whitney for Mini Series (MOW) Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Local 706 and was honored by Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) for her contribution to Makeup & Hairstyling for Film and Television. In 2014, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Barbados Music, Fashion & Film Awards. Carter-Narcisse was also featured on WPLG Chanel 10 “Holiday Makeup Looks”, and “Oscar Winners Always Thank The Academy But Who is The Academy?”. She has also participated in tributes remembering the late Whitney Houston on south Florida’s channels 2, 4, 6 and 10, Ebony, Allure and Essence Magazines, The South Florida Sun Sentinel, On Makeup Magazine, Makeup Artist Magazine. Carter-Narcisse has also been featured in the several online magazines and blogs both nationally and internationally: www.onmakeupmagazine, www.nathythomazini.com, www.pausaparafeminices.com, www.claudia.abril.com.br, www.beautyfair.com.br, www.vocegostadaresenha.blogspot.com, www.ifestyle.r7.com, www.regardmag.com and many others.
Passionate about film making and giving back, Carter-Narcisse has lent her hand to the budding film industry in Barbados by consulting, producing, training and doing makeup and costumes with local Barbadian film makers Alison Saunders’s Panama Dreams; and Marcia Weekes’s Chrissy, Vigilante – The Crossing and Errol Barrow: Freedom Fighter. She also produced the 2019 Step by Step Productions’ feature, Joseph: A quest for Identity, which won the 2020 African Academy Award for best narrative. Most recently, she just completed the Tyler Perry/Netflix feature production — A Jazzman’s Blues.
Carter-Narcisse currently resides in south Florida with her husband of 29 years and their son.