Genoveva Herrera Martínez

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Cuban born in Camagüey and raised in Havana.

Herrera arrived in the United States in 1969, when she was 11 years old and was brought by her parents and her three siblings. After spending two days in Miami, the family moved to New York, where Herrera settled the rest of her life.

The Cuban woman wanted to be a nutritionist but enrolled in the John Robert Powers makeup school in Manhattan, because she enjoyed the world of painting. When she won a competition at the school her teachers encouraged her to make her talent a professional career.


"I was good at painting, at sculpture... they always told me to dedicate myself to art," she said. "I think this is a way of teaching the art that I have. It is a form of artistic release."

Herrera now works for the Sally Harlor agency, which sends her to travel around the world. Her schedules are totally unpredictable, she can work more than 12 hours straight one day or just two days a week.

"If my clients have a lot of movies, I work a lot. If not, I don't. It all depends," said the makeup artist, who recently traveled to Japan and Prague.

Herrera describes her makeup style as simple and natural, using soft products that highlight the features of the face.

"I don't like to hide the skin," she noted after recently applying makeup to Mendes in a room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, facing Central Park. The expert likes to use moisturizing cream with color that she applies on a damp sponge before applying.

The Hispanic makeup artist assures that she enjoys her work, however intense it may be.

"Until the day all my clients want me, I will be there for them," she concluded.

Genoveva Herrera knows what it is like to be very, very close to Hollywood's most famous actresses.

The Cuban makeup artist spends her days literally attached to the faces of actresses like Eva Mendes, Julia Roberts, or Susan Sarandon, making them look radiant minutes before they walk down red carpets, face camera flashes, and attend galas that will appear in magazines around the world.

"It's a very close thing. When you do their makeup you're on their face. Sometimes they tell me private things. They treat me like their best friend," said Herrera, who changed her name to Genevieve Herr when she became a United States citizen.

Herrera has been doing Susan Sarandon's makeup for about 20 years, Julia Roberts for about 15 years, and Mendes for about 10 years. Her brushes and blushes have also painted the faces of stars like Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, or Sarah Jessica Parker.

"Julia Roberts loves her too, so we all have to fight. Me, Julia Roberts, Liv Tyler, we all have to fight for her. We all end up like '¡no, I requested her first!'".

Tyler had to request Herrera's services a year in advance to attend the dazzling annual gala of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which takes place in May in Manhattan. At that time many celebrities need their makeup artists, so you have to make the reservation soon, Herrera explained.

"I always go with the attitude of doing my best work. If they don't like it they can request another makeup artist," said the Cuban, who is the mother of two children ages 29 and 31.

Her decades of experience have earned her loyal clients with whom she shares more than work hours. Roberts invited her to her wedding at her ranch in New Mexico in July 2002. Herrera has also watched Sarandon's children grow up, she explained.

"They treat me almost like I was family," assures the cosmetics expert.