EE British Academy Film Awards 2022 – Scholar Alesha Ledeatte-Williams

THE MAKEOVER

ALESHA LEDEATTE-WILLIAMS HAD A NUMBER OF JOBS, FROM TEACHING ABROAD TO EVENT MANAGEMENT, BEFORE REALISING HER LOVE FOR FILM AND MAKE-UP COULD BE THE PERFECT COMBO. THE ROAD AHEAD HAD ONE MAJOR BARRIER...

BAFTA scholar Alesha Ledeatte-Williams

BAFTA/Jordan Anderson

"I actually cried,” blushes hair and make-up artist Alesha Ledeatte-Williams, recalling the moment she was interviewed after applying for a BAFTA scholarship. “It was one of those times when you think to yourself, ‘This is my only opportunity...’ Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t be working in the industry now, I reckon. And that’s the truth.”

Tears aside, in 2018 Alesha did receive a Prince William Scholarship in Film, Games and Television, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros. With the funds, she was able to pay more than half of the fee to complete her 30-week advanced course in Make-Up and Hair Artistry at The Iver Make-Up Academy, a practical course taught by industry veterans, which has been instrumental in helping her forge a career in film and television. She’s already landed jobs on Sex Education and No Time to Die.

There wasn’t anything else available for hair and make-up specifically back then,” says Alesha, who was 31 at the time of her course. “It took a huge burden off my shoulders. And, as a mature student, it felt really encouraging that BAFTA would invest in me... It not only gave me access to study, it also gave me credentials. BAFTA is a big brand, so to be able to put it on my CV makes people look twice.”

By Toby Weidmann