We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carol Rasheed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carol below.
Carol , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from keeping the faith and having faith, my life lessons has shown me that nothing is impossible if you just keep going no matter the odds, i was a teen age mother and a high school drop out i had my first child at the age of 15 and moved out of my parents house to go live with my aunt when i was 16 and by the age 20 I was married with a ready made family by having to help support a step child and also ended up having my own second child with my then husband by the age of 28 I was divorced however during my marriage years my then husband encouraged me to finish high school by obtaining my GED after accomplishing this i decided to go to school to get a license to do hair and from there i worked in a couple of salons and then decided to go work for Disney world in Orlando and this is how my 34 year career into TV and Film started. I have to say it was a very bumpy road for at least a decade of building my name and branded work within the film industry during my struggling years , I opened a couple of successful salons to help feed myself and my 2 kids , my first salon was a true struggle i would cry heading to that salon everyday hoping i would make enough money to pay my rent my first home purchase was a rent to buy home i eventually purchased that first home after many years of doing salon work and taking tv and film jobs when they came along i managed to get a letter in the mail where the Home Shopping Network had sent out a RFP request for proposal of overseeing their Hair and Makeup Dept. 24 hour operation. I enlisted a friend to help me put the package together to apply its my understanding that they sent out 25 letters to potential people, now i have no idea how my name ended up on the list but i was very happy and nervous that it did. I invited the friend that helped find someone to write up the proposal to join me.. Well that did not turn out well the friend and i got into a disagreement and she decided that she would notify the executives at HSN to let them know she had the connection that put the proposal together which was true however after the meeting with the executives team decided they wanted me to head up the project without the invited friend again i had to learn to be resilient I was shaking in my knees because i had never had to step out clearly on faith HSN required that meet with all the current on air host at the time this was circa 2004 needlessly to say I brought in another friend Linda Tucker may god rest her soul to handle the hair portion of the contract that was the best decision having her as part of my main team. As time has moved on a few years later would require me to continue having faith and staying resilient my 23 year old son Hakeem was murdered shot 5 times at close range this time was a very dark and sad time for me during this time i was newly working for one of the biggest bosses in the world of Television Tyler Perry Studios . Mr. Perry called me to his office to give his sincere condolences and he also gave me an unexpected or unsolicited check .i went home for 7 days buried my son and came back to work this was a great move on my part because needed something to keep my mind off my son and worked helped in many ways of course i would have my crying moments .. I never forget i was working on an actress and my colleague next to me started talking about the death of her mothers anniversary and right then and there i stated sobbing uncontrollably to the point of me excusing myself as i had not shared with any of the actors that i had just buried my son the week before . I must say the emotional support i received from Mrs .Alfre Woodard who was one of the actors who witnessed my breakdown followed me outside after hearing from one of the other artist about my loss.. Mrs. Woodard grabbed me and held me tight and this words she said has stuck with me . I kept saying I’m so sorry I broke down her words were don’t you ever be sorry for crying let it out whenever you feel the need to it will help in your healing process. this brings me to healing and how to choose resiliency as we all continue to live its a choice that we make for our selves when we choose not to heal from past traumas it can stifle our being resiliency. I’ve had many other traumas in my life but i never let them define me or my purpose. i will always work to heal this keeps me resilient
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a mother, a grandmother ,friend and leader in the area of Makeup Artistry for TV and Film. I love what I do as a profession. I feel that doing makeup is special because with this profession you can create sadness, happiness, you can make a person look younger or you can make them look old, or dead, you can create burns and blisters to the skin can make them look like monsters, distressing the skin can make them look tired and beat up.
Makeup can make them look homeless , we have the ability to give a person facial hair, there is so much that can be created with makeup.. we can create the image of looking like you’re from another era by creating a makeup look from 1920,s 30,40,s 50,s era. I have been a Professional makeup artist for over 3 decades. I also teach others how to work and thrive within the Tv and Film Industry through my Makeup School called the TV and Film Makeup Academy established in 2016In Atlanta Georgia this has created the opportunity to give back to an industry that has given me so much. We train you on all things needed to make you move successfully as a Makeup Artist in the TV and Film Industry. Look out on Dec 25, 2023 The Iconic Reimagined Color Purple Movie will be coming out to the world which I department headed this period piece my team and i replicated and recreated looks that span over a 40 year period which required aging our characters and so much more . I am currently creating Red Lipsticks inspired by the time period of movie in a limited edition! Colors will be available on my website-tvandfilmmakeupacademy.com by November 2023. the Lipsticks are inspired by the ears of 1920,30,s 40,s to 1950,s but can also be worn as contemporary and in todays world. Every Lady needs her favorite red lip.
The TV and Film Makeup Classes will also be hosting more hands on and online courses in the fall.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
3 qualities that have helped me personally as a human and in my career.
1-Character- Having excellent characteristics will carry you very far in life
2-Having Integrity
3-Contiuning to educate yourself and stay open while never taking anything personally.
When a person is early in their journey try your best to align yourself with good people, people that have great character , integrity and are honest.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parent taught me how to take care of myself and to always be humble and grateful for all of life’s blessings be they were good or considered to be bad. And to never give up to always stand up for myself and keep walking to the front without thinking so much about the past.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tvandfilmmakeupacademy.com
- Instagram: Carol_Rasheed
Image Credits
image credit- Para Sharde
