How Pati Dubroff Became Hollywood’s Lead Makeup Artist

Pati Dubroff’s first muse was Barbie.

“I literally had one of those Barbie heads that you could paint on,” said the celebrity makeup artist. “I remember thinking in front of that Barbie head that I wanted to do this when I grow up. And here I am doing this grown up — on Barbie.”

Margot Robbie, that is. The Australian actress — who plays the protagonist in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 comedy — is among her clients, and Dubroff was tapped to create her beauty looks during the film’s press tour.

“During that time, I had this crazy time-loop memory of being a 10-year-old girl in front of that doll,” she continued. “This is in the ’70s; back then, it wasn’t a known career like it is now.”

She was drawn to beauty young, doing makeup for her friends for all the school events, she explained. “But I didn’t know it was a career.”

Carving her own path, Dubroff moved from her home state of New Jersey to New York, where she first worked behind a beauty counter for a luxury brand at Bergdorf Goodman at age 19. “That was entry point A,” she said, admitting, “I lied my way into that job because I said I had experience, but I didn’t have the experience that I said I did.”

She juggled many jobs, from waitressing to working on music videos sets, and ultimately landed a freelance makeup gig at MTV during its heyday, working with Cindy Crawford on “House of Style” in 1989.

“I was putting my portfolio together,” she went on. “You had a physical book you had to lug around.”

Dubroff’s entry into fashion came through celebrated makeup artist François Nars, known for his work on the runway; she was his first assistant.

“He was the guy who did all the shows,” she said. “You name it. Versace, Prada, Valentino, Calvin Klein. Being his assistant, that’s also how I met great photographers who then were so kind as to hire me to do makeup when François wasn’t available.”

Her regular clients have ranged from Britney Spears and the Olsen twins in the early 2000s to Robbie and Kirsten Dunst today. Known for a skin care-first approach to beauty — creating glowing, fresh faces — her artistry has been featured on top magazine covers and in big-name beauty ads. As Chanel’s makeup ambassador, one of Dubroff’s recent projects was working on Robbie’s Chanel No. 5 campaign.

“[It] continues to inspire me,” she said of partnering with Chanel, “especially with the exciting announcement of Matthieu Blazy as the new creative force behind the brand. It feels like a fresh chapter for everyone.”

Dubroff’s move to Los Angeles in 2002 marked another turning point in her career. Initially hesitant to leave New York, she realized that the growing prominence of actresses in fashion and beauty opened up new opportunities: “In the late ’90s, I started working with more and more actresses for covers of magazines.”

It led to a milestone in her career. “It’s such a wild story. It doesn’t seem real,” she said of the moment: Landing in L.A., standing at the baggage carousel, she received a call from her agent about booking a Vanity Fair cover with photographer Annie Leibovitz — a first for her. “It was like lightning struck.”

Dubroff’s career continued to flourish, and she became known for her ability to make skin look its most natural and beautiful, regardless of the client’s skin type. “If you ask people, they would say skin is my thing,” she said. She described her approach as a naturalistic one, preferring to enhance rather than mask her clients’ features. “I want them to feel like the most elevated version of themselves,” she explained.

Makeup is “the cherry on top,” she said. Her process begins with massaging the face using tools like microcurrents, rollers and gua sha to rejuvenate the skin. She advocates for prepping the face with techniques that enliven it. “Even if someone has challenging skin, I spend a lot of time working on it,” she said. “When you manipulate, oxygenate, work it, it all becomes more alive and that really shows through the skin.”

Her love for beauty goes beyond skin, however. Dubroff has a deep appreciation for self care and wellness. “Creating a safe environment is key,” she added. Staying true to herself is central to her relationships, both with clients and in her own life. “I want to be authentic to who I am and to what I bring to the table.”

She attributes her longevity in the industry to a balanced approach to life, where spiritual practices like meditation and gratitude play a central role: “My spiritual life is more important to me than my career…I work really hard to bring light into my life so that I can bring light out into the world.”

Looking toward the future, Dubroff expressed a desire to reach more people and remind them of their innate beauty. She has an upcoming project in the works, she revealed, though stayed mum on details.

“It’s about helping people feel beautiful in their most authentic way,” she said.