Joanne Gair

A maestro of disguise, Joanne Gair is widely recognised as the world’s foremost make-up artist and body painter. During a career spanning 20 years, the New Zealand-born artist and image-maker has worked alongside the world’s leading photographers, directors, celebrities and supermodels to create some of the most unforgettable images in the modern media age. Her work has graced international magazine covers, fashion campaigns, music videos and motion pictures. Over a decade, Gair worked with Madonna on music videos, tours and a documentary, and made a huge splash with her body painting of Demi Moore, dressed only in a black paint tuxedo, for the August 1992 cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Gair has become a fixture in the fashion industry, her artistry in demand by major magazines, fashion campaigns and cosmetic companies. She has also been beauty editor of Black Book magazine in New York. Since 1999, Gair’s swimsuits—painted on the bodies of supermodels—have taken centre stage in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions.