Who is Kevyn Aucoin

Born 14/02/62

Died: 07/05/02 of kidney and liver failure.

Star Sign:Aquarius

Nationality: American

Occupation: Celebrity make up artist

Children: None

His surname is pronounced Oh-Kwan.

Aucoin was born in Louisiana. He was adopted by the Aucoin family as a child and grew up with two sisters and a brother. A shy and effeminate child he was interested in make up from an early age. This marked him out and he was subjected to frequently violent homophobic bullying until he moved to New York.

It was in New York that he would fulfil his ambition to become a successful make up artist. As his reputation grew he became highly sought after by fgashion magazines and celebrities earning as much as $10,000 per session.

In 2001 Aucoin was diagnosed with a pituitary tumour. In response to the physical and mental pain he experienced following his diagnosis he developed an addiction to painkillers. It was this addiction, rather than the tumour that was to kill him. In 2002 his liver and kidneys failed as a result of his abuse of painkillers.

'Beauty has a lot to do with character.'

'Beauty is about perception, not about make-up. I think the beginning of all beauty is knowing and liking oneself. You can't put on make-up, or dress yourself, or do you hair with any sort of fun or joy if you're doing it from a position of correction.'

'Growing up, I was shy and effeminate and was therefore considered ugly. Other kids threw that word at me a lot.'

'I work in an industry with some of the meanest people who have ever walked the face of the earth, who live and die for the surface. But the way I see it, I have a responsibility to do the most I can do, the way I know how. Since I know how to apply makeup, that's what I do and use it as a platform.'

'Perfection is boring. If a face doesn't have mistakes, it's nothing.'

'There are two types of people in the world: people who are passionate about things, and people who've had their passion punched, beaten, or whatever out of them.'

'I'd rather have huge success and huge failures than travel in the middle of the road.'