I know for a fact that this job pays very well because I have many friends who are performance and theatrical makeup artists. I've even paid them for some work before and they weren't cheap. If you want a professional production, you have to hire them. It's that simple. With that kind of demand comes some very high wages. You do have to consider that you have to buy your own makeup, but that is often considered in the rate, or it's negotiated in the budget if something like heavy prosthetics are needed. Those things are not cheap, and they can take hours to apply.
The best places to work will be the East and West coast, though there are productions all over the United States. Still, you won't find quite the work you will on the coasts, though that means competition is also higher. The best ones can charge a great deal for their services, and those in the top 10% earn about $122,000 a year.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.