Ryan Murphy, four-time Emmy® Award-winning producer, director and screenwriter, will receive this year’s Distinguished Artisan Award at the Annual Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards (MUAHS, IATSE Local 706) honoring both make-up artists and hair stylists outstanding achievements in motion pictures, television, commercials and live theater. The black-tie gala will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2017, at The Novo by Microsoft at L.A. Live. The announcement was made today by Susan Cabral-Ebert, President of IATSE Local 706. 

“We’re excited to bestow our 2017 Distinguished Artisan Award on Ryan Murphy, who constantly raises the bar and challenges the skills of our members to their utmost abilities when delineating his television characters. He has always shown strong support while working in collaboration with our make-up artists and hair stylists,” said Cabral-Ebert.

Ryan Murphy is one of television’s most respected creators and has directed, written, and/or produced a wide array shows. He has won four Primetime Emmys, 11 additional award wins and 45 nominations and is the originator of the popular American television programs American Horror Story, Glee, Nip/Tuck and The New Normal.

Murphy began his career as a journalist, eventually turning his penmanship towards a career in film and television. His first program, Popular, a teenager comedy-drama for the WB Network ran for three seasons in 1999. More success came in 2003 with the debut of FX’s Nip/Tuck, which tells the tale of two plastic surgeons living and working in Miami, Florida. In 2009, Murphy debuted Glee about a high school glee club, which was inspired by his days in high school choir. In 2011 Murphy served as executive producer on American Horror Story with Jessica Lange and Dylan McDermott and guest stars Lady Gaga and Kathy Bates. In 2012, NBC announced plans to air Murphy’s newest series, The New Normal. In 2014 HBO film The Normal Heart debuted, chronicling the story of the onset of the AIDS crisis in New York, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. Additional credits include American Crime Story, Feud, Scream Queens, Eat Pray Love and The Glee Project among many others. 

MUAHS Lifetime Achievement Awards recipients will be announced shortly. Additional awards will honor nominees for outstanding achievements in motion pictures, television, commercials and live theater. Online submissions close on Tuesday, November 29, 2016. Nominations for this year’s awards will be announced on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. * Final ballot on-line voting closes on February 10, 2017. Winners will be announced on Sunday, February 19, 2017 at the Awards gala.

*Please note: Nominations will now be announced on January 11, 2017 instead of January 10, 2017.

About the Distinguished Artisan Award
The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild’s Distinguished Artisan Awards is given to those whose body of work in the film industry was richly enhanced by the consistent collaboration of make-up and hair styling artistry creating memorial characters throughout their career.

About Local 706
The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild (IATSE, Local 706) was chartered in November 1937. Today, membership includes over 1,900 artisans in the entertainment industry worldwide. Local 706 members are make-up artists and hair stylists who have created the looks for Hollywood's most memorable characters and stars of stage, screen, television and now the Internet. The wide-ranging domains of these artists include feature films and television, commercials; "live" network television, all types of theatrical productions and Disneyland theme parks. Local 706 Members have created notable characters competing for Academy Awards®, Primetime Emmys®, Daytime Entertainment Emmys®, Saturn Awards®, BAFTA Awards®, and many other honors for make-up and hair styling artistry including their own Hollywood Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards. The Local 706 Guild publishes The Artisan, a glossy quarterly magazine, and provides panels, workshops and training both for members and others interested in the field to foster a spirit of innovation in the craft. For more information, visit www.local706.org or get #MUAHSawards updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.