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Filming Phantasms

Zapata working on Marina Sirtis' hair for "Phantasms"

Joy Zapata (born 27 November 1951; age 72) is an Emmy Award-winning hairstylist who worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation, first as a key hairstylist during the first season and later as hair designer for the fifth through seventh seasons. She was also a key hair stylist on Star Trek Generations and Star Trek Nemesis.

Zapata's hairstyling helped The Next Generation win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series for the episode "Time's Arrow, Part II" which she shared with Candace Neal, Patricia Miller, Laura Connolly, Richard Sabre, Julia L. Walker, and Josée Normand. Her work also helped earn the show two additional Emmy nominations in the same category for the episodes "Cost Of Living", shared with Patricia Miller, and "Firstborn", shared with Patricia Miller, Laura Connolly, Carolyn L. Elias, Don Sheldon, and Susan Zietlow-Maust.

Zapata began her career in hairstyling on Battlestar Galactica. Her early film work includes When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979) and Under the Rainbow, working with Star Trek make-up artist Fred Phillips.

Since then, she has headed the make-up department for Innerspace (1987, starring Robert Picardo and featuring Wendy Schaal, William Schallert, Henry Gibson, Mark L. Taylor, Dick Miller, Kenneth Tobey, Andrea Martin, and Richard McGonagle), Rain Man (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989, featuring Reg E. Cathey, Bob Gunton, Ed Lauter, and Mark Moses), Independence Day (1996, featuring Brent Spiner, Bill Smitrovich, Frank Novak, Leland Orser, Raphael Sbarge, Tim Kelleher, Randy Oglesby, Erick Avari, and Tracey Walter and working with Norma Lee and Candace Neal), Blade (1998), The General's Daughter (1999, featuring James Cromwell), and Galaxy Quest (1999). She was also a key hairstylist on films such as Sunset (1988, starring Malcolm McDowell), L.A. Story (1991, featuring Iman and Patrick Stewart), Apollo 13 (1995, featuring David Andrews, Clint Howard, Max Grodénchik, Brett Cullen, Andy Milder, and Brian Markinson).

In addition, Zapata was the head of the hair department on Magnum, P.I.. She later became a key hairstylist for Mad About You, winning a Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award for her work on that show's final episode ("The Final Frontier"). She won a second award from the guild for her work on the 2001 film Legally Blonde. She also earned her fourth Emmy Award nomination for the 2002 TV movie Path to War (which features Cliff DeYoung, Albert Hall, Bruce McGill, and Randy Oglesby). Other recent credits include Jonathan Frakes' Clockstoppers (2002), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). She was a key hairstylist on Transformers (2007), written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

Since 1996, Zapata has been Academy Award-winning actor Jack Nicholson's personal hairstylist. She has worked with Nicholson on such films as Mars Attacks! (1996), As Good as It Gets (1997), About Schmidt (2002), Something's Gotta Give (2003), and The Departed (2006).

More recently, Zapata worked as key hair stylist on Switched at Birth (2011-2012, with Gloria Ponce), as hair department head on Scream 4 (2011, with hair stylist Norma Lee) and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012, with Dwayne Johnson and Branscombe Richmond), and as hair stylist on the Academy Award winning drama The Artist (2011) and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013).

Star Trek credits[]

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