Any fan of Orange Is The New Black knows who Skinhead Helen is but do you know what she looks like in real life? You might be shocked at the difference hair and makeup can make when you see her as Francesca Curran. She has been on Orange Is The New Black since season four but she takes a bigger role in season five as she becomes the leader of the white power group.
Francesca Curran plays Helen on Orange Is The New Black and fans see her as a neo-nazi white supremacist who has a lot of tattoos and a bald head. Her star tattoos around her eyes and the 100 percent tattoo around her neck are the ones that stand out the most. In case you had not already guessed, none of the tattoos are real. The bald head is real though!
Each day before filming begins, Curran has to spend at least an hour in the hair and makeup chair . First she gets a fresh shave for her head and then all the tattoos are applied. They also apply circles under her eyes with makeup. According to Insider , she also has her teeth greyed so they don’t look clean and her eyebrows lightened. Francesca says that when she first started the whole routine could take up to three hours but not it only takes about one hour. Usually she is the first of the actors to arrive at the set to get ready and the last one to leave.
When she’s not working, Francesca Curran bears very little resemblance to the character of Skinhead Helen that she plays on Orange Is The New Black. She says that she’s actually feminine and girly in real life and she loves jewelry and makeup. She uses wigs right now to give her different looks but she still looks amazing bald.
Most women would cry at the idea of shaving all of their hair off but Francesca Curran embraced it. She called it a freeing experience. In an Instagram post, she advised people to do risky things – like shaving your head. She also suggests growing your hair or dying it a wild color or traveling or starting a new business.
“Just start to do the things you love. Whatever it may be, be happy in what you do. Make others happy if you can.”
What do you think of the character that Francesca Curran plays on Orange Is The New Black ? Do you like her or hate her? However you feel, you have to admit that Francesca Curran looks nothing like Skinhead Helen in real life!
[Featured Image Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]