Jennifer Hudson Wore at Least 12 Wigs for Her Role as Aretha Franklin in Respect

QUITE FRANK(LIN)Aretha Franklin's Beauty Legacy Lives on Through the Respect FilmThe lead artists behind hair and makeup share the behind-the-scenes moments that made this must-see film so mesmerizing. 

By Danielle James

December 23, 2021

• Facebook
• Email
• Pinterest

Courtesy MGM

• Facebook
• Email
• Pinterest

Jennifer Hudson's bellowing voice fills every corner, every crevice of the church as she sings "Amazing Grace," adjusting her vocals to fully embody Aretha Franklin and pay her "respect." The Director, Liesel Tommy, yells cut — but Hudson keeps going. "Jennifer couldn't stop," Lawrence Davis, lead hairstylist for the Franklin biopic Respect shares. 

Hudson's voice is one you come across once in a generation. But her skill, at least for this film, is more than just her ability to sing — it's her ability to channel the spirit of Franklin, to make her presence felt on screen.  "It was such a wonderful, spiritual moment where everybody involved felt the energy of that particular song and the spirit of Aretha in that room," Davis says. 

Besides the power of Hudson's unmatched vocals, the film's hair and makeup also bring Franklin to life, taking viewers through the evolution of the late singer's signature style. Davis, an Emmy Award-winning hairstylist, strategically teamed up with lead makeup artist Stevie Martin to develop each beauty look. "I was adamant about having Stevie as a trailer partner," recalls Davis. The two worked together before on the TV series Greenleaf and Claws. "This one was really important to me because we were telling an icon's story," says Martin. 

Behind the Beehives

One of the first challenges the pair faced in the process of styling the actors who played Franklin was the lack of photos they had of the singers as a kid or a teen. There simply weren't any pictures of her from when she was very young. Instead, Daniel and Martin pored through images of Franklin's contemporaries to inform the costuming for those scenes in the film. "We definitely pulled our references from what was current at that time, whether it was pictures of church services, concerts, girl groups, family portraits, and high school yearbooks," explains Davis. Many of the images they browsed through were in black and white, so, Martin notes, they had to research popular color palettes from the time in order to add that dimension. 

Martin touches Hudson up on the set of Respect.

Courtesy MGM

For the more grown-up version of Franklin, Davis says it was of utmost importance to get all the details right. It's the small things, he explains, that draw the viewer close and put them in the time period of Franklin's heyday. The singer's signature beehive hairstyle, for instance, was particularly key to accurately portray. It's something Davis initially thought would be a challenge, but it turned out to be easier than he thought. "I specifically asked the wig maker to do kinkier edges on that unit because I wanted it to be as authentic as possible for the period," he explains. "I wanted it to look like it was Black natural hair that had been pressed out." 

The updo is updated throughout the movie as we watch Franklin move through the decades. Davis kept the same silhouette every time but thoughtfully switched up the look on several occasions to reflect the evolution of Franklin's personal style. He took the original beehive they created for the scenes from Franklin's young adult years, then updated it to mature with the character. "I created a tapered haircut as opposed to [a] longer hairstyle that swept up to be a beehive," says Davis, who used synthetic hair to create each look.  "Synthetic wigs are amazing to have when it comes to performing because it does not actually sweat out or fall — it will hold a style," he shares. There were over 100 wigs created for the film,  12 allocated to Hudson for her character's everyday and performance looks.

Martin touches up Hudson on the set of Respect.

Courtesy MGM

Though staying true to Franklin's signature beehive was of utmost importance, Martin says that they weren't as concerned about recreating the singer's exact makeup. "We weren't going to mimic Aretha Franklin's look because we didn't want to be distracting," he explains. "Aretha had strong brows. I didn't want to make the brows as strong on Jennifer because that would have been a point of emphasis." Martin expresses. The intent, instead, was to focus more on the natural makeup and effortless radiance that was favored — whether by choice or because of other conditions — by Black women at the time. "When I met with Liesl, she was tired of African-American women portrayed in films and TV shows with so much makeup on," Martin says. So, they kept the makeup minimal, but not without a little finesse or nods to some of the singer's most memorable beats: her signature cat-eye, her gold lip, and even the mole she sometimes strategically placed on her face.

One thing that was unique about this production, Martin shares, is that there were several Black staffers working on it, a rather uncommon occurrence in the movie industry. "You normally don't see a trailer full of African-Americans on a project. It was a lovely thing to see that it was people like myself telling Aretha Franklin's story," he says. But even with so many Black people on set, Davis notes that his greatest challenge was finding enough hairstylists that could work with natural, Afro-textured hair, especially when it came to styling extras for the church scenes, concerts, and anything that required larger crowds. 

That, coupled with the restrictions in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, made it difficult for them to keep up with the constant stream of hairstylists (up to 25, as Davis says) they needed on set. "We were pulling from anywhere. At that time in Georgia, everything was just like now — really, really busy. It became a challenge of finding people to fill those days," Davis shares. You wouldn't expect a place like Georgia, with its massive Black population to have a dearth of hairstylists with experience styling textured hair. But, considering the fact that many cosmetology schools still don't require training in that area, being able to work with kinks and tight curls becomes a specialty as opposed to the norm. The future is looking more promising, though. Louisiana recently passed a law that requires all hair licensing exams to have a section on textured hair. That means if you're going to be a certified stylist in Louisiana, you need to know how to work with Afro hair. Let's hope other states follow suit. 

Aretha Franklin's legacy earned her the title Queen of Soul. Capturing that essence on film was a group effort, one buttressed by the incredibly talented members of the hair and makeup team. Davis and Martin's collaborative efforts brought Franklin's — and by proxy, Black women's beauty to the forefront. 

More behind-the-scenes details on the beauty in your favorite films:

• The Suicide Squad Makeup Artist Reveals the Exact Makeup Used on Harley Quinn
• The Beauty Secrets Behind Emma Stone's Glorious Take on Cruella De Vil
• Behind the Young Williams Sisters' Epic Beaded Hairstyles in King Richard

Now, watch Ava Max try 9 things she's never done before:

Keywordsaretha franklinJennifer Hudsonmoviesmovie makeuphair and makeupnatural hairstylesretro beautyinterviews