THE OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR IS AN
INTROVERT WITH A SCHEDULE ONLY
AN EXTROVERT COULD HANDLE.
NOW SHE’S STARRING IN SELF MADE:
INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM
C.J. WALKER, IN WHICH SHE PORTRAYS
THE LATE, GREAT BEAUTY MOGUL.
with
octavia
spencer
TALKING BEAUTY
I had known of Madam C.J. all
my life. I think for people who
don’t know her legacy, it’s going
to be shocking to hear that she
was the first female self-made
millionaire in our country, and
she was a black woman whose
family members were slaves.
In fact, she was the first in her
family who was not born a slave.
Of course, it’s daunting to
play her because in the black
community we look up to her.
But it’s daunting any time you
have to tell the story of some-
one’s real life—you don’t want
to make a mistake. At the same
time, I’m excited that I get to
tell her story and the story of
what she meant to me. She was
one of the people that my mom
used as a standard-bearer for
us, to teach us that anything
that we ever dreamed for our-
selves could happen.
One of the first beauty tricks
I learned was from watching my
mom get dressed. She wore
very little makeup, but she
would always brush up her eye-
brows. It was just a really pretty,
natural look. And she would
draw in a beauty mark above
her lip with an eyebrow pencil.
I think of makeup as an
enhancer; it should enhance
Spencer as Walker
in Self Made: Inspired
by the Life of Madam
C.J. Walker (this
particular scene is a
dream sequence).
68 ALLURE APRIL 2020
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
