Jerilynn Stephens interview: ‘The Voice’ and ‘Legendary’ hair
“I love the Emmy love,” says hairstylist Jerilynn Stephens, who earned two nominations this year for her work on HBO Max’s “Legendary” and NBC’s “The Voice.” “It’s just so nice to be recognized. Hard work pays off. I found out online because I’m usually the one who lets everybody know because I’m up early and usually on top of it. I’m the group texter of congratulations.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
This marks Stephens’ ninth nomination for “The Voice,” where she started as an additional hairstylist on Season 1 and worked her way up to hair department head on Season 9. “I just got a notification that we have our 500th episode coming out,” she remarks. “It’s crazy to be a part of a show for 10 years. Who would have thought?”
“That show is well-oiled,” she continues. “It’s such a fun show to be a part of these contestants’ lives.” The episode submitted for Emmy consideration was “The Top 17 Live Performances.” “We’re used to doing a lot of hair for the lives,” she explains. “I would have this vision and inspiration with the contestant beforehand, have it ready, we know what we’re doing. I tell whoever’s chair they sit in ‘here’s what we’re doing, here’s a photo, here’s your inspiration. Go!’ Teamwork was really what it was all about.”
Although Stephens has been a part of “The Voice” family for a decade, “Legendary” was a new challenge that allowed her to experiment with “out of the box” hairstyles. The reality TV series follows voguing teams (consisting primarily of LGBTQ+ contestants) as they compete for a $100,000 prize. “I had no idea what I was in for,” she admits. “First I accepted the job. Then I watched the first season and then in my head I quite three or four times. It was so unbelievably creative. This season we really killed it. I actually colored my hair lavender purple so I looked a little more edgy.”
“I started educating myself before I even started the season,” Stephens reveals about understanding ballroom culture. “Some people recommended ‘Paris is Burning’ and of course ‘Pose.’ I really tried to educate myself and I’ve always been a huge supporter. I enjoy that show a lot.” The episode titled “Pop Tart” was submitted to the Emmys, which shows the contestants performing to a pop art theme. She says of the looks in that episode, “They are dreamy. And yummy. It makes me so happy when I see pictures of all of those colors.”
