May 2026 Featured Artist
Hair to Tell the Tale
An Interview with Documentarian Ilise Harris
Ilise Harris
Photo Credit: Leslie Kahan |
Ilise Harris has had decades of international makeup and hairstyling experience with a diverse clientele that has included celebrities, fashion and beauty brands, corporations, and indie films. She has contributed to iconic editorial and advertising campaigns and has worked with some of the world’s most influential fashion, fine art, and beauty photographers, including Arthur Elgort, Francesco Scavullo, Horst, Joyce Tenneson, and Anne Geddes. For over 45 years, she has worked with high-profile personalities like Vogue's Anna Wintour, Mia Farrow, Liza Minnelli, Paulina, Jon Stuart, Gloria Steinem, Brooke Shields and others.
Your Roots Are Showing marks her debut as a documentary filmmaker, expanding her practice as a visual artist into long-form storytelling. The film has opened new pathways for Ilise as a public speaker, Modern Elder, and pro-age beauty advocate. It’s also won multiple awards as well as a recent grant from the Artemis Rising Foundation, which supports content that challenges the status quo, often with a feminist slant. Based in the New York area, Ilise lives with her husband, two cats, and is the proud mother of two grown daughters. |
For hair and makeup artist turned documentarian Ilise Harris, hair is the root of all beauty.
In a phone conversation full of laughter and sage advice, Ilise shared her journey and philosophy with Sanctuary’s Associate Editor, Carol Lippert Gray.
You started as a makeup artist.
Makeup and hair. Still am. I went to Fashion Institute of Technology for jewelry design, but that industry at the time was too conservative for me. I became a sales rep for Stagelight Cosmetics but found I preferred the artistry end of the business to sales. I started working for free to build a portfolio and also worked as a Playboy Bunny in New York. Then I bought a one-way ticket to Milan on Air Yugoslavia, got an agent, and started working for a publishing company of weekly magazines. I stayed three months and had a portfolio when I came back.
In a phone conversation full of laughter and sage advice, Ilise shared her journey and philosophy with Sanctuary’s Associate Editor, Carol Lippert Gray.
You started as a makeup artist.
Makeup and hair. Still am. I went to Fashion Institute of Technology for jewelry design, but that industry at the time was too conservative for me. I became a sales rep for Stagelight Cosmetics but found I preferred the artistry end of the business to sales. I started working for free to build a portfolio and also worked as a Playboy Bunny in New York. Then I bought a one-way ticket to Milan on Air Yugoslavia, got an agent, and started working for a publishing company of weekly magazines. I stayed three months and had a portfolio when I came back.
|
How did you segue into movie making?
I didn’t think I was segueing into anything. I had just turned 65. I was doing brides and wedding parties and was ready for something next. The idea for the film was downloaded into my brain. I needed a project and felt something in my mouth: vintage baby blocks spelling out Your Roots Are Showing. That’s why I had to do this thing I didn’t know how to do. It was given to me. I had walked the walk from the time I started going gray in my mid-40s. I had a lot of conversations with people who saw my hair and who were talking about their hair. During the Pandemic, the salons closed and everyone was walking around with that stripe. At the time, I was consulting for Face Stockholm. They wanted me to focus on the midlife woman and how she wants to look. I try to keep my eye on what’s happening in fashion and beauty. That’s much more powerful than what gray hair is or isn’t. I began seeing young influencers growing out their hair. They were loud and proud gray. I began to ask, ‘What does that mean to the individual and to the culture?’ We are all having a cultural inflection point, and that matters. |
Graphic: Gurus Magazine/Photo Credit: Leslie Kahan
|
How did you begin to make the movie?
A movie producer friend advised me to get the latest iPhone with cinematic mode and get a great video editor. If he believed in me, I could believe in myself. If something comes to you so clearly, shut down the voices that say you can’t.
I had a great video editor. He’s a young guy who is intuitive and was patient with all the tech stuff I didn’t know.
A movie producer friend advised me to get the latest iPhone with cinematic mode and get a great video editor. If he believed in me, I could believe in myself. If something comes to you so clearly, shut down the voices that say you can’t.
I had a great video editor. He’s a young guy who is intuitive and was patient with all the tech stuff I didn’t know.
Click Image for Trailer from the Film's Instagram Page
Graphic: Gurus Magazine/Photo Credit: Leslie Kahan |
Why is this film significant?
The world needs women in positions of power. If we spend all our time on our looks, we won’t have time for other things. It’s like my little job to make women feel better about themselves so they can do what they need to do. If you feel bad, it’s debilitating and doesn’t serve a higher purpose. I got a message yesterday from a woman in Hawaii who is the caregiver for her 44-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy and autism. She realized that worrying about her hair was counterproductive. [The film] manages to tap out a lot of notes. A lot of people assume so many things based on what we’ve been told, but our hair carries it all. Hair is a big deal, [especially] if you get a bad haircut or have a bad hair day. For some women, it’s the worst part of chemo. People won’t tell you if your bra isn’t working or if your shoes are terrible. But people absolutely comment on hair because it’s projection. They’re in a defensive crouch [about their own]. What’s your advice for women who want to go gray? It’s an inside job first. Be really clear on why you want to go gray because you’re going to need fortitude. Make a plan. Growing out blonde hair is different than growing out dark hair. If your colorist isn’t supportive, find a different colorist. |
There are tons of Facebook support groups. There’s an app in development called The Silvering Sage that will offer journaling and support.
You have to be ready.
You have to be ready.
Where can people watch the movie?
The website is the simplest way for people to screen the film. Soon I'll have it on the Kinema platform. I’m also willing to host screenings as a fundraiser for worthy causes that support women and girls.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary when I'm curled up in my bed, in the space between waking and sleeping. I also find it walking in the woods and floating in warm Caribbean waters, when I'm lucky enough to be there in the winter.
The website is the simplest way for people to screen the film. Soon I'll have it on the Kinema platform. I’m also willing to host screenings as a fundraiser for worthy causes that support women and girls.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary when I'm curled up in my bed, in the space between waking and sleeping. I also find it walking in the woods and floating in warm Caribbean waters, when I'm lucky enough to be there in the winter.
|
EXCITING NEWS!
We will be hosting a screening and talkback for our Sanctuary Community. If this is something that interests you, EMAIL the EDITORS, and we'll send "hot off the press" information directly to you. Readers can also stay tuned for more information in our e-news and throughout social media as plans develop. |
