From the coal face to some very famous faces

GARY Cockerill is make-up artist to the stars. But here he tells Catherine Scott he has not always rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous.

A LOOK at Gary Cockerill’s client list reads more like a who’s who of the celebrity world.

Liza Minelli, Elle Macpherson, Honor Blackman, David Beckham ... the list goes on.

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He refers to soap opera grand dame Barbara Windsor as his second mother, and Katie Price, aka Jordan, is his best friend.

The celebrity make-up artist is hot property with stars queuing up on both sides of the Atlantic to benefit from his magic make-up brush which can transform the plainest of women to look like a Hollywood star.

“I went to a psychic once and she said I was a healer. I dismissed it at the time but now when I think what I do and how I make people feel they were probably right.”

But the 41-year-old make-up artist hasn’t always lived the glamourous life rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous and starring in his own television shows .

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Not that long ago Gary was looking at an entirely different type of face to earn a living – the coal face.

Born in Armthorpe, Doncaster, after leaving college where he studied graphic design he needed to earn enough money to fund a move with his then girlfriend to London.

It was the dying embers of the British coal mining industry but Markham Main were still recruiting.

So against the wishes of his parents and in many ways against his better judgement a determined Gary signed up and got the job.

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For six months he worked underground in dark, hot and often dangerous conditions.

“It was good money; about 500 quid a week, but I soon realised why – it was danger money,” recalls Gary.

In his autobiography From Coal Dust to Star Dust out now in paperback, Gary recalls an accident underground when he was nearly crushed by a wagon.

“I threw myself out of the way, ending up with only a gash across my head, and a few bruises. The lad I was with wasn’t so lucky – poor kid was stretchered out with a shattered leg, sobbing and screaming for his mum.”

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Gary’s decision to become a miner will have come as a shock to family and friends in Doncaster. They would more have expected him to go into showbusiness because from an early age he showed theatrical promise, attending a local stage school and landing a number of jobs while still at school. These included touring with Lionel Blair in his show Once in a Lifetime . But Gary decided that the theatrical life wasn’t for him, although he always knew he would end up doing something creative.

“My dad is very artistic and I take after him. I’d always thought I’d go into graphic design, but I ended up going into make-up.”

Another reason why the life of a miner may not automatically have sprung to mind as a natural career for Gary was the fact that while growing up he had spent most of his time playing with girls. His sister and cousins played a big part in his life and as a result he spend a lot of time being dressed up by them. He was taunted by some of the boys at school who called him a “pansy”, but it wasn’t until he was in London having left the pit after earning enough money, and living with his long-term girlfriend, that Gary really started to question his sexuality.

And when he met his future husband, Phill Turner, it was love at first sight.

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The couple have been together for 20 years and married in November 2005, the day gay marriages were first allowed.

His decision to tell his family and parents was not an easy one, and was one of his reasons for writing the book.

“It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But my parents are amazing. They brought me up to be true to myself and I just couldn’t live a lie. Although they were shocked at first; it was the eighties and the height of the Aids scare so my mum just thought the worst and my dad worried about not having more grandkids, but in the end they were fantastic.”

Family is very important to Gary. He travels home to the Doncaster bungalow where he grew up ever six weeks.

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“I have a very close bond with my both my parents. I might not be the son my dad would have wanted but we are very close.”

It seems this need to return to his roots helps to keep life real for Gary when the rest of the time he is caught up in the ephemeral world of celebrity.

He first got into being a make-up artist after landing a job painting the faces of shop window mannequins when he first moved to London.

He taught himself hairdressing and gradually built up his profile. But it was a stint in America which really gave him the edge and he believes was the key to his subsequent success.

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“At the time in the States the Pamela Anderson Baywatch look was all the rage. And I perfected that look. When I came back to the UK they hadn’t seen anything like it and suddenly everyone wanted it.”

First he started working with an agency which photographed young models, many for Page Three.

That is where he met a young aspiring model called Kelly Parsons, she was later to become Kelly Brook. Then he met a tiny, feisty young model. Her name was Katie Price aka glamour model Jordan.

“I always knew that Kate was going to be famous; she had something special.” He could not have predicted back then just what a furore that determined young model would cause and how she would divide opinion so strongly.

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“There are few people in the public eye who have been as misunderstood, misrepresented and misquoted as Kate,” say Gary defensively.

“The woman I have often read about in the press – Evil Jordan – bears so little resemblance to my kind, loyal and generous best friend that I would be laughable if it wasn’t so upsetting.

“She has been through so much – sexual abuse, divorce, a media witch hunt – and yet she is still soldiering on, being a fabulous mum and an incredibly hard businesswoman. Kate is a true survivor.”

Gary admits that he doesn’t agree with everything she does, He is against her excessive use of Botox and tried to convince her not to have such large breast implants, but he will not have a word spoken against her.

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“What you see in the newspapers and read about her is just not true. She has become a national institution – whether you love her or hate her she has to be one of the most famous women in Britain.”

Gary and Phill are fast becoming TV personalities in their own rights. After regular appearance on Katie’s reality TV show they are set to launch their own spin-off this summer. Gary is appearing in a second series of Promzillas, where teenage girls are given the makeover of their dreams, and he has his own make-up range for women and men about to hit the shops

“I am becoming famous for what I do best – because I am very good at my profession. I don’t see myself as a celebrity.”

Despite the list of A-list celebrities which grace his client list, Gary Cockerell seems to be pretty level-headed.

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He realises that reality television fame is a bubble which can burst at any moment, and his strength is that he knows that it isn’t the real world. His many trips back to Doncaster help to reinforce that, as does his grounded upbringing.

He says he has strong morals which means he never breaks the trust of a client.

“I wouldn’t last long in this business if I did. But more importantly I couldn’t live with myself.”

This may explain why he continues to be in demand by some of the most famous men and women in the world.

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But there is still one woman he is desperate to make-up; Madonna.

REALITY SHOW IN HIS OWB RIGHT

Gary Cockerill has appeared as an expert and “talking head” on a variety of TV programmes, including: The Truth about Beauty, 10 Years Younger, Make Me A Supermodel, This Morning, GMTV and Big Breakfast

From Coal Dust to Star Dust, by Gary Cockerill is published by HarperCollins (£6.99).

To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop.co.uk. Postage and packing is £2.75.

Gary also appears in Promzillas on Sky Livingit at 10pm on Fridays.

For more information visit www.garycockerill.com.