“New York is like a giant chessboard: every move is a decisive step, a balancing game of opportunities and challenges. I’ve learned that you always have to continue on your path, because the right moment can come when you least expect it.”
Angela (Angie) Valentino is an Italian make-up artist originally from Monza, Italy, who moved to New York in 2015 to pursue her passion for makeup artistry. With a degree in Scenography and Costuming from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, she began her career collaborating with theaters and art studios, and then expanded her skills to the world of fashion and advertising, both in Italy and the United States. After working with prestigious brands such as Versace, Moncler, Dolce & Gabbana, she moved permanently to New York. Here she collaborated with major theater and film productions, earning awards such as the ‘Italian Heritage Award 2022’ and the ‘Fini Dance Makeup Dancer Award,’ awards that celebrate her contribution in dance and film makeup internationally. We interviewed her for TheNewyorker.
When did you discover that make-up would be more than just a passion and would define your life path?
I have always had an innate passion for make-up, ever since I was a child. I loved experimenting with different colors and creativity. I had no doubts about choosing art high school and later entered the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in which I could immerse myself every day in a stimulating and inspiring environment. I earned a degree in set design and then a second degree in costume design for the performing arts. Growing up, I also always had this fascination with America. My muse has always been Madonna, I’ve always appreciated her iconic and trendy style in the make-up world. But of course America for me was a dream, a movie, something far away. In the meantime, I pursued my studies and, thanks to a teacher at the Academy who had noticed my talent, I decided to specialize further. He recommended a make-up school and I enrolled in BCM Cosmetics Academy, the most important make-up academy in Italy in which I studied all techniques at 360°: make-up for film, television, fashion, beauty, special effects, body painting.
From La Scala in Milan to Hollywood. When did you realize that your career path would take you overseas?
I began my path at La Scala in Milan as an assistant set designer, then I collaborated with Mediaset and worked with brands such as Moncler, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Moschino and Cavalli. Theater fascinated me, but fashion offered me more opportunities for growth, and I decided to focus on that world, between catwalks, advertising campaigns and hectic backstage. Then came the opportunity to work on cruise ships with Costa and MSC, where I managed teams of makeup artists and traveled nonstop. Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, France, Egypt, Italy-each stop was a discovery, but the more I explored, the more I felt my future lay elsewhere. Italy was home, but it was no longer enough for me. America was calling me. So when the Academy organized a study vacation between New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I didn’t hesitate. I saw the most iconic movie sets, Broadway musicals, Universal and Warner Bros. studios, but the meeting that really marked the turning point was the one with the make-up designer of Avatar. That’s when I realized that my world could be even bigger, and I finally arrived in the United States in 2015.
And your love affair with New York began, but also one of sacrifice….
Exactly. New York is an extraordinary city, but it is also incredibly challenging. Everything is more complicated here, every goal requires commitment and determination. It is a place that challenges you every day, but precisely because of that it makes you grow immensely. I started by throwing myself into as many projects as possible, building my path step by step until I worked in major theater and film productions. One of the most complex obstacles was definitely the visa. I worked with many productions-in theater, film, and fashion-but the turning point came through meeting someone involved in a campaign for Fanta. That connection opened up a great opportunity for me and allowed me to get my O1 visa. From there, my career gained momentum. I still remember the day before the lockdown: just then I got approval to renew my second visa. I saw it as a sign of fate, the first of many that have since come. America wanted me to stay, and so did I.
You have received prestigious awards and publications in the New York Times. What has been the most significant recognition for you?
Yes, I have won four awards in the United States as a makeup artist, all of which were extremely important to my career. The first was in 2018 at Los Angeles Fashion Week, followed by another in 2019 at New York Fashion Week. In 2022, I received two prestigious awards: the Fini Dance Makeup Award, which is tied to a lifetime achievement award, and the Patrimonio Italiano Award, an honor usually given to deputies in Rome, but which was awarded to me in the United States because, at that time, I was waiting for a green card and could not travel. This award celebrates talented Italian artists in the U.S. and was given to me with the motivation: Angela Valentino, an Italian makeup artist, who has exported her talent and technical knowledge to the United States, establishing herself as a renowned artist and representing a boast for the entire Italian community in the States. In 2023, I was interviewed by The New York Times, which gave me great visibility, kicking off a series of articles in Vogue, The New York Post and other major newspapers. It was a turning point that greatly amplified my visibility. Each of these awards had profound meaning for me, marking milestones in my journey and confirming the value of my work.
You are one of the few professionals to have been accepted into the Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Union. Has this accomplishment changed your career?
Joining Union has been a dream come true but also an extremely complex process. Selection is really difficult: every year hundreds of applicants apply, but only a very few are accepted. I prepared for 6 months, collecting documentation on 46 different types of make-up and getting letters of recommendation from Union-which was especially difficult for me, since I didn’t know anyone inside. So I had to reconstruct with a lot of documents, photos, portfolios my entire career. I still remember when in the mailbox came that letter with a star on it. Once I was accepted, I had access to top-level productions that were previously out of reach such as Hollywood films, Broadway shows, Netflix and HBO. I also collaborated on Good Morning America and Drew Barrymore. Being part of the union means having the opportunity to work on unionized film, television and theater sets, with guaranteed wages and more protected working conditions. My career has gained more stability and recognition, and I have begun collaborating with the best professionals in the industry, as well as giving me the opportunity to work on more prestigious projects, and solidifying my reputation as an established professional.
What is your relationship with the competition in your work environment?
My relationship is healthy and motivating. I know that in my field the competition is very high, but rather than seeing it as a threat, I see it as a drive to continually improve myself. I work with people who have won awards like Oscars and Emmy Awards, and that makes me realize that if I can learn from them and grow, I can get to those levels, too. Competition teaches me to persevere, not to settle and to always aim higher, but without forgetting that all success requires time, sacrifice and resilience.
What are your future dreams and how do you envision the next chapter of your career?
The Emmy Awards is definitely one of my biggest dreams that I aim to achieve. In the meantime, I am writing a book about my 10 years of living in the United States, an intense story that will see the light of day when the time is right. In the long term, I’m also thinking about my own make-up line, but it’s not something I want to do right now; I prefer to wait and plan every detail slowly. New York, for me, is like a giant chessboard. Every move represents an important step, but you have to be careful not to get crushed by the game: you have to be ready to checkmate others, but also not to get hit. The city is an intricate maze of possibilities, and every encounter can be the one that will change your life. When I finally received my green card confirmation after nine and a half years, it was an indescribable moment, a sign that everything I had been fighting for had finally made sense. I learned that you have to be ready to always say “keep going,” because the right moment doesn’t always come when you expect it, but it can come because of the person you cross paths with along the way.
The article Angela Valentino: From Milan to Broadway and Hollywood – The Dream of a Make-Up Artist comes from TheNewyorker.
