A Look at the Makeup Design in I, Tonya (2017).
Margot Robbie is first seen as Tonya in age makeup, presumably depicting her in her mid 40’s. This casting choice allowed for the same actor at age 27 to portray both a fifteen year old girl and a woman in her 40’s through hair, makeup, and costume design. The makeup design not only depicts the process of time, but also tells a story of continuous physical abuse.
Aged Tonya
The hard shadows on the neck are the big sell for making this light age makeup so convincing. I have always been told age shows in the neck and the hands because those are the two things you can’t fix with plastic surgery…yet. I think this makeup designer had a similar idea in mind when she created this look. We can tell she is middle aged because her skin is still plump, but the skin around her eyes appears to be thinning, seen in the fine wrinkles and purple hue beneath her bottom lids.
There are more than thirty separate looks for Tonya throughout the film, not including the looks created for McKenna Grace’s portrayal of Tonya age 8-12. For the sake of brevity, I’ll discuss the highlights.
Age 14
The illusion of youth is created with a blotchy complexion reflecting a no-makeup look, braces, and an awful though era-appropriate haircut. I call this her “Cherry Chapstick” look, which we see throughout the film in different stages of her age.
Age 16
For example, here that tinted lip balm look is again, progressed a few years. She has grown out of her awkward phase, so her complexion is clear and rosy. There is a highlight under her lower eyelid, giving her a dewy and innocent look. This emphasized innocence creates incredible sympathy for her when we see her mother fling a knife into her arm from across the room.
By this point in the film, we are starting to see Tonya’s distinct skating competition looks. These looks provide a grounding visualization for Tonya’s emotional maturity and response to critiques.
1986 Skate America
This look shows how different Tonya is from the other competitive skaters at her level. We see them first with their hair pulled back in neat buns or braids with clean, rosy makeup looks. Tonya comes out with a messy bun, untamed concave claw bangs, and it is clear she has not bothered to hairspray her flyaways down. She wears a bold purple lipstick and matching eyeshadow to go with her costume and jazzy ZZ-Top number. Though her skating is perfection, her look is unpolished and unkempt.
Early Competition Looks
As time goes on, her competition look evolves from a messy bun to a frizzy ponytail. Her eyeliner is dark and heavy, her lipstick bright pink. It is as if she is going for the “pretty” look the judges want, but she can’t quite accomplish it.
Abuse Makeups
Tonya suffers multiple hits to the face during the film, and the makeup used shows that abuse in multiple stages. We see her cover up bruises with makeup that are in different progressions of healing, implying continuous domestic violence. In the scene where Jeff fires a gun at her and she falls to the ground, her exhaustion and panic is emphasized in the darkness under her eyes and the added gleam of sweat catches the light of the police cruiser.
“The Incident” Flashback Look
Her face is lit ominously, stark white like a mask. She looks like a villain in a comic book with the blood splattered up her neck and across her eye (theatrical mirror, maybe?).
Tonya Grows Out Her Bangs
Robbie is portraying a real person whose image is easy to look up, especially given the amount of media exposure the real Tonya Harding had at the time, so her hair does reflect that reality. However, as she ages through the movie, this grown-out look helps separate the time progression of the story.
1994 Winter Olympics
Her hair is at its most sleek, done back in a tight French braid down the center. In this moment, she finally has the clean, sleek look of the other competitors, but with the intense performance makeup required for an Olympic stage. This is a surreal moment in the film. We watch her struggle to hold herself together as she sloppily applies a stick rouge then tries to smile, exposing a streak of lipstick across her teeth.
I went back and watched sports coverage of the real Harding’s competitions in the 90’s. She was always a fierce competitor, but unpredictable. Something would always go wrong for her. This scene intimately shows this struggle.
Secondary Sources
Prosthetics! Reverse Contouring! How Margot Robbie Transformed Into Tonya Harding for I, Tonya
How I, Tonya‘s Makeup Department Head Helped Craft one of the Best Scenes in 2017
Regan Shaw Design 