Freda Ellis, 38, won the high-profile award for her work on Netflix’s Wednesday
A hair and make-up artist who won an Emmy has revealed her mum carries the statuette around in a bag for life.
Freda Ellis, from Leeds, scooped the Outstanding Contemporary Makeup award for her work on hit Netflix show Wednesday.
The 38-year-old flew back in to Yorkshire this week to a surprise family party after her success at the TV awards in Los Angeles.
She told the BBC: “It hasn’t really sunk in still, it’s incredible.”
Ms Ellis landed the job on the show, filmed in Romania and starring Jenna Ortega, after a former colleague recommended her to series bosses.
The show is a spin off of The Addams Family and focuses on daughter Wednesday’s journey through secondary school.
Image source, Netflix
Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday in the eponymous series
Ms Ellis supervised the award-winning team and ended up living in Romania for eight months.
Her family, including parents Jan and Paul and sister Esme, organised the surprise gathering on Thursday, where she admitted that winning an Emmy felt “wild”.
Ms Ellis said her mother was so afraid of damaging the intricate golden statue, a winged woman holding an atom, that she carried it about in “a bag for life wrapped in a tea towel”.
Image source, Freda Ellis
Ms Ellis with her parents Paul and Jan – her mother carries the Emmy in a bag for life wrapped in a tea towel to keep it safe
Ms Ellis studied media make-up at York College when she was 20 but said she had always been fascinated with portraiture and why people look like they do.
“I have an identical twin – who was always my model – I love exploring appearances and using it to tell stories.
“My ethos is telling more diverse stories and how things like your heritage and class influence your appearance,” she said.
As well as Wednesday, Ms Ellis has worked on The Long Song, Anne Boleyn, Wild Rose, Dance School and is currently working on a BBC crime drama.
She also said that she hoped her winning such a prestigious award would inspire the next generation.
Ms Ellis added: “I didn’t go to a big, expensive make-up school, I went to a local college, and me winning this can show others that you can do well in this industry without fancy training.”
Her mother said Ms Ellis had always been creative and the family were proud of her success.
She added: “I hope she’s still talking to me after the surprise party as she is quite a private person!”
