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UPDATED: 8:00 p.m. ET., Jan. 12, 2024
As we’ve come to understand year after year, day after day even, death is unfortunately an inevitable part of life. Still, as much of a fact as that may be, the blow of experiencing loss never gets any easier, nor does reporting on the subject in Black culture.
That sentiment was felt following the unfortunate passing recently of Reggie Wells, Emmy-winning stylist to the likes of Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Halle Berry and most notably Oprah Winfrey on a personal level for over 30 years.
He was 76 years old.
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More on the illustrious life of the late Reggie Wells below, via The Hollywood Reporter:
“Wells received five Daytime Emmy nominations for his work on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ winning in 1995. He also appeared on her talk show and traveled all around the world with her, including to South Africa when she opened a school for girls.
‘Reggie Wells was an artist who used his palette of talent to create beauty no matter the canvas,’ Winfrey said in a statement. ‘For many years he was my makeup artist. He called me and everyone he considered a friend ‘Mary.’ He always made me feel beautiful. Ooh my, how we’d laugh and laugh during the process. He was an astute observer of human behavior and could see humor in the most unlikely experiences.’
One of seven children, Wells was born on Dec. 2, 1947. His father, John, was a bus driver and his mother, Ada, a nurse. He graduated from Baltimore City College and Maryland Institute College of Art and taught art before moving to New York City in 1976.
He worked at makeup counters in department store before landing magazine gigs at ‘Glamour,’ ‘Life,’ ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ and ‘Essence,’ where he did Winfrey’s makeup for a cover shoot. It wasn’t long before she relocated him to Chicago to be her full-time makeup artist in 1990.”
May his legacy in the world of Black beauty care and fashion in general live on forever.
Learn more below about who in our culture passed away so far this year in 2024:
‘The Wire’ Actor Lance Reddick Has Died, Age 60‘Goodfellas’ Star Ray Liotta Has Died At 67Andrew Woolfolk, Saxophonist For Earth, Wind & Fire, Dies At 71
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