Mark Payne is an American make-up artist, filmmaker and author. He has won three Emmy Awards.
Early life
Mark Payne started his career as a performer. At the age of twelve, Payne began making home movies of himself performing as his favorite singers. He involved his mother, grandmother and neighbors in the creative process. Acting as his own agent, he used these home movies as demo tapes which led to headlining dates in Europe and Australia. By the age of sixteen, he had performed as the opening act for Bob Hope and Milton Berle. Mark attended High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. Payne morphed his talent into several incarnations. He was a successful performer, singer and recording artist. He also designed clothing for a well-known brand and under his own name. Many celebrities including Madonna and Cher have purchased his clothing.
Make-up artist
In 1996, while in Texas taking care of his dying grandmother, Payne followed in his mother's footsteps and began working as a make-up artist. In 1997, he met make-up artist Laura Mercier who encouraged him to move to New York. In 1997, Payne collaborated on a Harper Collins book called Double Take: The Art Of The Celebrity MakeOver. In 1997, Payne transformed Sally Jessy Raphael into Liza Minnelli launching his career in television makeup. He then began working on One Life to Live, gaining him his first Emmy nomination in 2001. In 2004, Payne won his first Emmy for his work on Regis & Kelly, winning a second Emmy the following year. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he was nominated for six Emmy's for his work on the Food Network series Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, 2012 brought his third Emmy win for that show. Payne has appeared as a makeover expert on television shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show; The View; Fashion Emergency and Live With Regis & Kelly. Considered "a renowned leader in the field of beauty", he is a regular contributor to Elle; InStyle and Allurefashion magazines. In November 2006, he received The Best Of Beauty award by Allure magazine. In 2000 it was Payne who suggested to Barry and Fran Weissler to cast Reba McEntire in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun, which gave McEntire her Broadway debut in 2001. He has worked with numerous celebrities including Beyoncé, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Jane Seymour, Paris Hilton, Sting and Kelly Ripa. Payne notably worked with Hillary Clinton. Payne has been a guest at the White House during three presidencies.
Heather Mills first made Payne aware of the importance of “Green” products and the Vegan lifestyle. He has become very conscious of the environment and believes "you are what you eat." While working on a tribute video about Payne, a friend asked Payne for his assistance in compiling film footage from his childhood performances. Because of Payne's intimate knowledge of the hundreds of hours of footage, it was a natural decision for him to direct. In 2008, he directed his first film Get Happy which has won fourteen awards.
