298. Just by “Staying REAL,” She Works with Celebrities, Presidents & Olympians

“My mother told me that I could draw perfect horses in the sand when I was two or three years old. I was in love with horses and I painted them and drew them. I even painted them on the clothes I made for my children and for myself. Horses were my first inspiration. My second inspiration was seeing the film, Cleopatra, with Elizabeth Taylor. I was about 10 years old and drew a picture of Cleopatra for my aunt that replicated one of the scenes. My aunt kept it and presented it to me about two years ago. You know, I’m still impressed with my own work from that time!”

Rhonda was married, with two children at a young age. “Then, I got a divorce, so I had to go to work!” She started working as a make-up representative and one of her first clients was Diane von Furstenberg, who had recently introduced a cosmetic line of her own. “I got to work with her. I still have an autographed book from her from that time period. From then on, I became known as a celebrity make-up artist.” CNN recruited her. “I was with them for seven years through the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. NBC kept asking me to go to the Olympics with them, but I was still under contract with CNN.” Rhonda continued to work for clients at the Olympics and will be going to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“Clients book me because I bring a level of comfortableness to the situation. We’re REAL with each other. I treat everybody the same. I’ve worked with four American presidents and their wives in the White House. President Jimmy Carter and Mrs. Rosalynn Carter still book me all the time and treat me like family. You have to be real in order to communicate effectively with each other, to find out what people want or what the executives want, or the directors want when they book me to work with somebody.”

1. Recognize and embrace your talents.

2. Be yourself. Be authentic and “real” with everyone.

3. As much as possible, live fully in the present.

4. Cherish the loved ones in your life.

5. Be a “no regrets” person. Everyone makes mistakes.

An avid reader all her life, today Rhonda gravitates toward books about spirituality, regardless of any religious origins or none. “All religions have some words of wisdom we can benefit from.”