EMMA KIDD may have a famous younger sister—supermodel, Jodie—but ride on the coat-tails of her sister’s success she has not. In fact, she started out as a model and stylist, working on campaigns for everyone from Pretty Polly to Chanel. Modelling, however, was something Jemma knew she never wanted to do as a profession: it made her too nervous.
   It was behind the scenes that she enjoyed the most, so after a stint of studying various other things in an attempt to find her passion, she sold her beloved Bedford horse box (to prove to her parents how serious she was) and, with the proceeds, packed herself off to make-up school in London, left her little sister to sashay on the catwalk and has never looked back. She has since successfully carved out her own niche in the world of beauty as a renowned make-up artist and beauty school maven.
   Born in Barbados in 1974 to polo star Johnny Kidd, Jemma’s family moved wherever the games were, so her youth was spent amongst international blue-bloods, royalty and the jet set. To this day, Jemma loves to visit Barbados, a place that holds dear memories of childhood. The interest in horses rubbed off, too, with Jemma competing in dressage all around Europe and Britain right up until her late teens, when she decided to take time out to explore other interests.
   The Kidd family oozes talent: aside from a supermodel sister, Jemma’s brother Jack is a well known polo player, so it was inevitable that she would soon find her own niche in which to excel. It was whilst she was studying that make-up mæstro to the stars, Mary Greenwell, took notice of Jemma’s natural talent and decided to take Jemma on as her number one assistant. It was during the five years which followed that Jemma cut her teeth in the industry,
assisting Mary at shows in Paris, Milano and London. The natural progression was being spotted, then signed by Premier Hair and Make-up Agency, one of England’s top talent agencies. They officially took her on to their books in 1999, an astute move given the following year Jemma was nominated for Make-up Artist of the Year at the Pantene Awards in London.
   Following her work with Mary Greenwell, Jemma was appointed spokesperson for make-up giant Max Factor where she held court for three years, and has recently become the spokesperson–artist for Rimmel Cosmetics in London. If all of that wasn’t enough to fill her days, she has also started up her own exclusive school of make-up in London, teaching intensive six-week courses covering everything—from basic foundation application to period looks, air-brushing and make-up for the catwalk. Jemma shares the running of the business with business partner and fellow make-up artist Ginno Bogado. The pair met in Jemma’s modelling days when Gini was Jemma’s make-up artists at shows and shoots.
   Never one to do things by halves—Jemma’s first ad campaign as a make-up artist was for designer Gianfranco Ferré with celebrity Photographer Peter Lindbergh—she has since gone on to be the lead make-up artist at the catwalk shows of fashion greats such as Jasper Conran, Philip Treacy and Scott Henshall. She has worked on the faces of Naomi Campbell, Hélèna Christensen, Jade Jagger, Yasmin Le Bon, Jemima Khan, Jerry Hall and the Duchess of York to drop but a few names! •

Nicola Brockie is editor-in-chief of the print edition of Lucire.

See the full story including a Q&A with editor-in-chief Nicola Brockie in the April 2005 print edition of Lucire, out in Auckland on April 6 and other parts of New Zealand soon after. To make sure you don’t miss out, click on the image at right to subscribe or buy a single copy. (Click 'Yes' if pop-up boxes appear—you're being switched to our secure server and it is completely safe.)

She has since successfully carved out her own niche in beauty as a world-renowned make-up artist and beauty school maven