Collage: Allure; Source images: Apple TV, Celeste GonzalezSave this storySave this story
On the heels of the announcement that Margo’s Got Money Troubles has been renewed for season two on Apple TV, reporter Kirbie Johnson interviewed hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh about the realistic and fantastical wigs showcased in the series for her column The Scenario.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows new mom Margo (played by Elle Fanning) and her quest to provide for her child in what many still consider an unorthodox fashion: creating content on OnlyFans. The series was acclaimed by critics, while viewers enjoyed it because it was simply a delight to watch. The show—based on the book by Rufi Thorpe—is also chock-full of fun and fantastical hairstyles, all of which give more context to the characters wearing them. From the mountain of wigs created for Margo’s alter ego, Hungry Ghost, to Rico Nasty’s mullet and glow-in-the-dark braids for her role as KC, there are also wigs hidden in plain sight, like the one worn by Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays Margo’s well-meaning but somewhat superficial mother, Shyanne. As the series wrapped, department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh reflected on her and her team's hard work, and shared details from behind the scenes.
Hungry Ghost’s Gargantuan Galactic Wig
Hungry Ghost’s wig.
Jaime Leigh McIntosh
Fanning in the hair and makeup chair.
Celeste Gonzalez
Fanning as Hungry Ghost on set.
Erin Ayanian Monroe
For Hungry Ghost’s fantasy hair, stylist Celeste Gonzalez not only sewed “three and a half wigs” together, but she also added zip-ties to help with weight distribution and structural support, a trick that Gonzalez credits to drag artists. Overall, it took several weeks to create the wig because McIntosh and Gonzalez were working on it as the series was being filmed.
The wigs they used were synthetic and ordered online, which helped keep costs down from a custom-designed wig (for reference, just the extensions and hair color used in Love Story cost over $10,000). “I think they each were maybe around $50 each, so really it was just the expenses, the time of the stylist going into it [that drove up the cost] that you'd need to factor in.” To finish off the look and make it shimmer, the wig was topped with glitter body spray. Gonzalez estimates the wig itself weighed five pounds; Fanning was “a trooper” for wearing it, adds McIntosh
McIntosh said she got inspiration for the shape of the fantasy wig from the Instagram account Chaos Dreamland. “It's an Instagram page where someone creates AI images, but the hair is always adorable.” The hair lead scrolled through the account with Fanning and landed on a pink hairstyle with bumper bangs and a Barbie-esque ponytail. “I would say [ours] is better than the image that we were inspired by. It's a little controversial, I suppose, using AI, but I didn't create the AI image, and I like to draw inspiration from all sorts of places. I don't want to limit myself on that side of things.”
Shyanne’s Basic Blonde Glamour
Michelle Pfeiffer as Shyanne.
Apple TV
Shyanne’s custom-made wig.
Jaime Leigh McIntosh
Shyanne is the glamorous member of the family, someone who likes to have her hair and makeup done—and to do Margo’s hair and makeup, too. After reading the scripts and receiving guidance from actress Michelle Pfeiffer, McIntosh shared on Instagram that she and wigmaker Rob Pickens worked on custom options for the character. “Michelle knew she wanted [Shyanne] to be blonde, but we all decided to go with a blonde coloring technique that maybe wasn’t the current trend, but Shyanne had it done by her trusted colorist years ago, liked how it looked, and so has stuck with it,” McIntosh says.
When building out a backstory for Shyanne’s character, McIntosh felt she is the type of woman who wakes up and styles her hair everyday, and the style McIntosh landed on was ribbon curls created with a GHD flatiron. She chose the look for the same reason as she chose Shyanne's outdated blonde hue: "She found what worked for her years ago. It may not be the latest trendy way to create curls, but it works for Shyanne and she looks bangin’.”
KC and Rose's Colorful Creations
Lindsay Normington as Rose.
Celeste Gonzalez
Rico Nasty in her blonde mullet to play KC.
Jaime Lee McIntosh
Some of the more eclectic (and electric) looks in the series came courtesy of KC (played by rapper Rico Nasty) and Rose (actress Lindsay Normington), friends of Margo who help her build her online identity. “We got inspired [for their looks] by going through Pinterest and TikTok, as well as searching for fun braided looks and club kids,” says Gonzalez. “We wanted both these girls to look as cool and creative as possible, but also like they've done [their hair] themselves,” Gonzalez says.
For a glow-in-the-dark scene in episode 8, KC’s wig came from McIntosh’s personal collection. “The yellow wig had a little bit of glow to it, but we still ended up adding some UV paint onto it, and I also dyed some lime green highlights,” says Gonzez, who used the shade Limelight from Hayley Williams’s Good Dye Young range.
Rose’s excessive hair accessories helped sell her creative, DIY persona. “With the accessorizing, I could just imagine Lindsay's character being that type of girl that has one of those clear cabinets full of fun hair accessories. She's grabbing from a big bucket of hair accessories that she has and doing the most.”
KC’s glow-in-the-dark wig.
Celeste Gonzalez
KC’s wig under the blacklight.
Celeste Gonzalez
