Meet Jennifer Lawrence’s make-up artist Hung Vanngo: the Vietnamese former refugee is now every celeb’s go-to for red carpet events, from Selena Gomez to J.Lo, and works with Marc Jacobs and L’Oréal
You know you’re good at your job as a make-up artist when Jennifer Lawrence calls you a “plastic surgeon” for the looks you’re able to create. In a recent interview with her pal Kylie Jenner in Interview magazine, J Law refuted rumours she’s had work done, instead giving major props to her Vietnamese make-up artist.
So who exactly is Hung Vanngo, and how did he become one of Hollywood’s most celebrated make up artists?
10 make-up artists loved by celebrities, from Kim K to Meghan Markle
Hung Vanngo is a refugee from Vietnam
That Hung Vanngo made it to the US at all, let alone Hollywood, is something of a miracle. In 1987, following the Vietnam war, his mother made the difficult decision to put three of her youngest children – including Hung – on a tiny migrant boat bound for the US. But the boat capsized and the siblings ended up on the shores of Thailand, almost dying struggling through mudflats, according to an interview Hung did with The Globe and Mail.
Incredibly, the siblings survived and made it to a refugee camp where they remained for three years. It was only when a Canadian charity worker decided to sponsor them that the children finally made it to that country in 1990.
He started out as an artist and hairdresser
“I’ve always been interested in creative things,” he told Allure magazine. “My favourite thing to paint was faces, so it makes sense that I became interested in make-up. It’s really the same thing – but on a real person.”
Who is Britney Spears’ long-time friend and manager, Cade Hudson?
Helena Christensen and Harry Josh gave him his big break
“Helena really liked what I did, and the next week she requested me for three different covers,” Hung told Fashionista. “Harry could also see that I was capable, and so between them, they’d start recommending me to different people.”
Now he’s a make-up artist to the stars
He’s also worked with more brands than you can count, including Lancôme, L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and Victoria’s Secret. But one honour stands out more than most: “Being named global ambassador for Marc Jacobs Beauty was a huge moment for me,” he told Grazia.
Meet Kim Yoo-jung, the 24-year-old K-drama star of hit Netflix show My Demon
Selena Gomez is one of his besties
Doing make-up is his safe space and happy place
He also told US LGBTQ+ magazine Them he’s faced regular discrimination on gay dating apps as an Asian man. “I love my work, it’s pretty much my everything, and there’s a reason for that. [That’s] where I feel most loved and most accepted. My clients … love me unconditionally, it doesn’t matter what race I am. They just appreciate your work … I feel the opposite in my personal life,” he told a Beautycon audience in 2019.
Hung has also admitted that his family “weren’t thrilled” by his choice to get into beauty. “In Vietnam, make-up and hair is really a female profession. They didn’t think about guys doing those things,” he told Fashionista.
But when Hung received InStyle’s Makeup Artist of the Year award in 2017 (presented by Gomez), he brought his mother along for the first time, and said that a tender kiss on the forehead from her after the ceremony told him everything he needed to know. “She didn’t say ‘I’m proud of you,’ but she didn’t need to,” Hung told Out magazine. “It was the highlight of my career so far.”
- The former refugee almost died escaping Vietnam in the 1980s after his boat capsized, but now he’s on every Hollywood starlet’s speed dial thanks to his talent for painting faces
- Hung says he’s had to overcome discrimination from his family for his choice of profession, and on gay dating apps for being Asian, but throws himself into his work where he feels ‘most loved’