The Leading Ladies From The Gilded Age Are So Gorgeous In Real Life

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When makeup artist Nikki Lenderman set out to create the beauty looks for HBO's "The Gilded Age," a historical period drama set in New York during the 1880s, she conducted a lot of research. "I took my biggest inspiration from paintings by Realist painters such as John Singer Sargent and James Abbott McNeill Whistler," she told Vogue. "I wanted the cast to look like a portrait painting, to evoke the aesthetic and color palette of that era." This helped her transform the leading ladies into convincing figures from the past.

Beauty is a key element of the series' storytelling, both for how it enriches the characters and for how it deepens the class divides at the heart of the narrative. "Different styles of appearances, from respectable to rich, flamboyant or poor for example, were represented in hair, makeup, as well as wardrobe," Lenderman told On Makeup Magazine. "That's why hair and makeup are such an important part of creating these characters, who tell the story, and show their social and political background."

While plenty of period dramas are plagued by anachronistic "Instagram face," "The Gilded Age" manages to be far more convincing. "I think ['The Gilded Age'] did a good job casting people who fit with the time period," wrote one Reddit user. Still, beneath the period makeup, the women of "The Gilded Age" are beautiful, modern-looking actresses. Whether they're rejecting Hollywood pressure to get Botox or raving about a well-defined brow, they're just as gorgeous in real life as they are when they are bedecked in geegaws.

There might be more than one hundred years separating Carrie Coon and her character on "The Gilded Age." However, the actress still shares a few things in common with her on-screen counterpart, the ambitious and powerful Bertha Russell. "The most Bertha thing about me is my confidence," Coon told Vogue. But while Bertha might be all about the high glamour, Coon's real-life beauty is more restrained and more gamine. She had to make some adjustments to her beauty routine so she could transform into her historical character. For example, she had to be hyper-vigilant about sun protection while filming "White Lotus" so that she would have the milky white complexion that was coveted by wealthy women during the 1880s.

Coon also revealed that she's opted not to get fillers or Botox, preferring to retain full expressiveness in her face. But that choice comes with its own vulnerabilities. "I think, personally, that my vanity is not as interesting as other things I get to explore as an artist," she explained during an interview with In Creative Company. "But it is painful. It is very hard to watch yourself aging naturally."

Cynthia Nixon, the actress who plays sweet, spiritual Ada Brooks, is a celebrity who is confronting aging with confidence — and a targeted skincare routine. "I have an infrared mask that I try and use most days," she told The Wall Street Journal. That might be part of what accounts for the actress's glowing skin, but aging hasn't necessarily been bad. For Nixon, it's meant the opportunity to tackle more nuanced roles on screen.

Still, Nixon knows how to take excellent care of herself. "The beauty staples I'm never without are Aurelia Cell Repair Night Oil — a hydrating lavender and neroli blend — and Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment for evening out skin tone," shared Nixon in an interview with the Financial Times. But while she's no stranger to luxe skincare, Nixon has been light-handed when it comes to altering her face in more permanent ways. "Cynthia has not had any plastic surgery," plastic surgeon Richard Westreich speculated to The Sun. "Maybe she has had Botox but she has never really had terrible wrinkles on her forehead either." That more natural approach to beauty has paid off onscreen since she's more credible as an 1880s lady in "The Gilded Age." "I appreciate Cynthia Nixon's more natural looking teeth every time Ada's character smiles," wrote one Reddit commenter.

Louisa Jacobson, the actress who portrays the deceptively steely, forward-thinking Marian, has cheekbones for days. A glimpse at throwback photos of her mother, Meryl Streep, hints at her genetic origins. In an interview with Into The Gloss, Jacobson revealed that she followed in her famous mother's footsteps when it comes to acting, but also with beauty. "Sometimes I would sneak into my mom's bathroom and put on some makeup," she explained. "And being the youngest of sisters, I grew up watching all of them and copying, learning from them." In real life, Jacobson's beauty has a more dramatic, edgier quality than her onscreen counterpart, whose tastes are soft, feminine, and period-appropriate. Instead, Jacobson is more likely to embrace high-contrast in her hair and eye makeup, and loves a smoky eye for special events. Jacobson also seems to appreciate a strong, well-defined brow. "Brows really establish the shape of your face," she told Glossier. "They're such a game changer."

Christine Baranski has aged beautifully, but the actress, who plays the stern, Old Money matriarch Agnes Van Rhijn, didn't always see herself that way. "I had bad skin when I was growing up, and it took a long time for my skin to settle down, which is why I never imagined that I would be a film actress," revealed Baranski in an interview with The New Yorker. Baranski is undeniably striking, with high cheekbones, elegantly arched eyebrows, and full lips. Still, she has an unconventional beauty, which might help explain why she underrated it. "I've always felt I have a funny face and great legs," she told PocketMags in 2015. "I have an odd face. At certain angles I can look quite glamorous, and at other angles I look quite odd."

Plastic surgery rumors have plagued Baranski for years, but she's never publicly confirmed or denied whether she's made alterations. Still, if she has had work done, it's been subtle enough that she still looks at home in the 1880s world of "The Gilded Age." "Although Christine Baranski definitely looks like she's had a brow lift, her face fits Agnes so well," wrote one Reddit commenter. "I feel like they've chosen actors on purpose that look like real people and not over-filled and rubbery. I love all the natural, unique beauty!"

Denée Benton, the actress who plays the independent and creative Peggy Scott, has a low-key approach to beauty. "Eos Lip Balm is really the only thing I won't leave my house without," Benton revealed to W Magazine in 2016. "But sometimes, if I want to feel like Beyoncé, I get a fresh eye brow wax and wear a bold matte lip color." In general, though, the glowing, doe-eyed actress prefers to be natural and comfortable. "The most consistent is a fresh cut, fresh eyebrows, and a maxi dress with back out, no bra, some Birkenstocks and gold hoops," she told People. "I could really wear that uniform every day."

As a teenager, Benton shaved her head — a dramatic contrast with the formal, sculptural hairstyles worn on "The Gilded Age" — then experimented with blonde and bright purple hair color. It was all part of a long process of finding her beauty identity. "As a Black girl, it takes you a really long time to realize that you are beautiful," she told S Magazine.

Gladys Russell couldn't be more stunning in real life, which is why it's incredible how effectively Taissa Farmiga disappears into her shy character. "Taissa is so transformed in the show, she plays timid and mousey so well," wrote one Reddit commenter. "It's nice to see her looking modern and glamorous!" In real life, Farmiga is a Hollywood stunner, with sparkling eyes and luminous skin. While her onscreen counterpart often prefers not to draw attention, Farmiga isn't afraid of a bold, modern beauty moment.

Farmiga has been known to embrace a bright red lip or dramatic hair change. In 2018, she debuted a layered blond bob — far lighter than her natural brond shade — on Instagram, writing, "So fresh and so clean, clean 💋." The hairstyle, with its bright highlights and flippy layers, would have looked wildly out of place on her historical character, but was perfectly on-trend for the contemporary beauty era, and she looked gorgeous.

On "The Gilded Age," the stunning Audra McDonald portrays Peggy Scott's mother — the elegant, steadfast Dorothy Scott. McDonald is one of several actresses on the show whose roots are in theater acting, and she was a well-known Tony Award winner on Broadway before she ever joined Julian Fellowes' cast. "When you talk about Greta Garbo, you think of that face. When you think about Ethel Merman, you hear that voice," Christine Baranski told TIME. "With Audra, it's that lustrous presence."

McDonald has flawless skin, wide eyes, and sharp cheekbones. The result? A face card that never gets declined, even when she goes makeup-free, like in the short video she shared to Facebook in 2018. "Not a stitch of makeup, haven't even combed my hair, and yet I look fantastic," she wrote in a caption beneath a video of herself displaying an "I Voted" sticker.

The luminous Kelli O'Hara, who plays the anxious and polite Aurora Fane, has had a long, successful career on Broadway, including winning a Tony Award for her leading role in "The King and I." The long-time stage veteran has been known to do her own stage makeup. But even when she's not under professional lighting, O'Hara is undeniably beautiful, with delicate features and light spring coloring.

O'Hara's soft beauty perfectly suits the historical world of "The Gilded Age," as well as the femininity and refinement of her character. "I absolutely adore her character (and think she's quite beautiful)," wrote one Reddit commenter. "My gilded age Barbie," wrote another Reddit commenter, with several folks observing that her character has the show's best costumes. But off-screen, O'Hara considers herself to be quite different from Aurora. "I'm actually a tomboy," she told Broadway. "I joke that I'm not really a girl, but I play one on stage. I was a 'sporto' in high school and I hate the color pink."

We don't often think of beauty as a liability, but stage actress Donna Murphy was once considered too gorgeous for the part she wanted. "I don't think of myself as a beautiful woman," Murphy told The New York Times in 1994, explaining that she was once told she was perhaps too striking for the lead role in the musical "Passion." "When we were doing the workshop of the show last summer, there were people who were going, 'They'll never be able to make you ugly enough.'"

But being beautiful doesn't appear to have hindered her career too badly. Roughly thirty years later, Murphy is portraying Caroline Astor, the queen bee of "The Gilded Age" social circles, and her beauty is undiminished. Murphy has never confirmed or denied having a little cosmetic enhancement, but she's aged gorgeously, in a way that some fans have speculated is too good to be true. If she has had work done, it's so good that fans don't feel it disrupts the historical immersion of the show. "Mrs Astor seems like she has had the equivalent of 19th century work done at some exclusive Swiss spa or sanitorium perhaps," wrote one Reddit commenter. "There is something there but it's not doctor Miami."

On screen, it might be easy to overlook the beauty of Celia Keenan-Bolger, the actress who portrays the Russells' housekeeper, Mrs. Bruce. Compared to the extravagant hairstyles and gowns of her upstairs counterparts, Keenan-Bolger often appears in practical hairstyles and a black uniform. Still, in real life, this actress, who made a name for herself in theater — she won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Scout Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird" — is a stunner with bright green eyes and high cheekbones. Beneath a photo of Keenan-Bolger attending the Tony Awards in a bombshell red gown, one Reddit commenter wrote, "The difference between the way she looks here to the character she portrays onscreen ... Fabulous actress!" Another Reddit commenter added simply, "Wow I didn't recognize her."

Off-screen and off-stage, Keenan-Bolger is reflective, and interested in interrogating the power structures that shape modern beauty standards. In a January 2024 Substack post, the actress reflected on Sonya Renee Taylor's book "The Body Is Not An Apology" and the idea of radical self-love. "I'm starting to see that 'better' might just be code for 'closer to the beauty standard of the white patriarchy,'" she wrote. "Of course I feel better when I'm thinner because American culture doesn't want women to take up space."