The Top 25 Best Makeup & Hairstyling Winners So Far (Updated for 2026)

My friends, we’re carrying on with this series, especially as we’re now deep into the below the line categories. As this is a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, I’m ranking the new crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!

This week, it’s the Best Makeup & Hairstyling Academy Award category loaded up and in the barrel. This particular Oscar field can often feel like it’s rewarding “most” as opposed to “best,” though what you’ll see below are certainly the cream of the crop. Lately, some of the visual transformations that have been achieved are incredible. Bombshell literally made Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly, for example. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button obviously is another huge example of what these masters are capable of. Where does the most recent winner in Frankenstein rank, coming on the heels of The Substance the year before, as well as Poor Things, The Whale, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye in the years prior to that? You’ll just have to read on and find out for yourself…

Here are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Best Makeup & Hairstyling Oscar, to date:

25. Frankenstein
24. Vice
23. Dallas Buyers Club
22. The Wolfman
21. Poor Things
20. Star Trek
19. Bombshell
18. An American Werewolf in London
17. Mrs. Doubtfire
16. Mad Max: Fury Road
15. Dick Tracy
14. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
13. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
12. The Whale
11. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
10. Mask
9. The Substance
8. Harry and the Hendersons
7. The Fly
6. Pan’s Labyrinth
5. Men in Black
4. Planet of the Apes
3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
2. Ed Wood
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Honorable Mentions: Beetlejuice, Darkest Hour, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and The Nutty Professor

Stay tuned for another list early on next week!