Queen Elizabeth I Throughout Cinema

Bette Davis - 'Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'

Bette Davis - Elizabeth I
Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
http://alisonweir.org.uk/books/bookpages/
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At the age of 31 Hollywood beauty icon Bette Davis agreed to a role that would change the way her physical appearance was viewed dramatically. The first actress to claim 10 Academy Awards nominations and one of the top actresses of her time Bette Davis was an icon within Hollywood cinema. Her skill as an actress only enhanced further by her sparkling doe eyes and quick whit that remain a iconic association with her career and beauty. However Perc Westmore's recreation of Bette as Elizabeth I in 'Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex' recreated her as a dramatic historical representation of 'Elizabethan beauty' superbly accurate in her representation of an older Queen.
For the role Bette courageously agreed to numerous changes that would completely alter her appearance for months at a time, this included having her eyebrows completely shaved form her face. But most dramatically the shaving of her hairline a whole three inches from the front of her head. Her brows were replaced with thin pencilled lines and her hair with a tightly curled red Elizabethan wig. Thick white makeup was then added leaving Bette completely transformed from the a Hollywood pin up to a ghastly historically accurate interpretation of an again Elizabeth I. After the shaving of her hairline Davis was quoted as saying "This time woefully my hair didn't all grow back" "They did it because Queen Elizabeth was loosing her hair, and they made sure that I did too". In '5001 Nights at the Movies' critic Pauline Kale stated that "Bette Davis was well painted and dressed for the role of the shrewd queen"and to this day her representation of Elizabeth remains ones of the most refined and aesthetically accurate within cinema representations.
Book Ref: 'Bette Davis - The Performances that made her Great', Peter McNally, McFarland & Co, 2008

Anne Marie Duff - 'The Virgin Queen'

Anne Marie Duff
The Virgin Queen
http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/
uk/elizabeth/virginamd.htm

The short BBC series followed the life of Queen Elizabeth I from her early twenties up to her death in 1603. It was advertised as a "regal portrait" of the iconic queen and Anne Marie Duff was cast to create that image. Anne Marie's transformation could be argued equally as dramatic as her predecessors for she mimicked the treatments set upon Bette Davis by Perc Westmore through also having her hairline shaved back 3 inches and her eyebrows removed from her face and lashes bleached. Anne Marie stated that: 
"I wanted to be a woman of her various ages and have integrity within it, not be doing an impression of something … I knew that with the makeup and costume I would look good – the prosthetics not only looked amazing but they gave my face restrictions that it wouldn’t normally have – and we worked on obvious things like vocal differences and the physicality … What I wanted to do was to try and find an old brittle bones approach … I hope I’ve achieved that. I kept thinking in my head, ‘Why on earth have they cast one actress, not two?’ but I just went for it and I hope that it works."

Karen Hartley-Thomas was the makeup designer for this production and it was herself and her team of makeup and hair designers Maureen McGill & Anna Morena that went about creating the final makeup look for Anne Marie. However she also underwent body sculpting prosthetics through the craftsmanship of Neil Gorton who sculpted the ageing stomach and breasts of Queen Elizabeth to enhance the sense of realism within the series and embody the true changes that underwent the Virgin Queen throughout her reign. 
Internet Ref: 'C16th Makeups - The Virgin Queen', Makeup Alley, http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/uk/elizabeth/virginamd.htm


Miranda Richardson 'Queenie' - Blackadder II
Miranda's somewhat unappreciated representation of Elizabeth I differs quite dramatically from other adaptations, instead of the regal majesty that we see within Kate Blanchett's construction, her character design is far more comical and the behaviour reflective much more of a spoilt child. However the makeup design is still a fine example of another adaptation of Elizabethan beauty although slightly more contemporary. Unlike other examples Miranda Richardson's version has a modern rouge lip and clearly visible brows, the hairline is also in its usual place but regardless the makeup still carries a heavy representation of Elizabeth. Victoria Pocock, the original makeup designer for Blackadder II, wanted to maintain the essence of Elizabeth I but bring forward a comical childish nature that is so iconic of Miranda's character. This was done through using an orange blush and bold red lip, which is almost clown like and somewhat exaggerative of the Elizabethan makeup which in essence was so thick it may as well of been circus paint. 

Miranda Richardson 'Queenie'
Blackadder II
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