The late Princess Diana’s hairdresser speaks out about the media’s portrayal of the late queen, including who got it right and who got it wrong when it came to her hair.
In an interview with Queer Eye Star Jonathan Van Ness for his podcast Quite curiousSam McKnight, who styled Princess Diana’s hair for seven years before her untimely death, said it was not easy to watch the various actresses portray the former Princess of Wales because of “all the mistakes”.
“For most people, these are not mistakes because they are just going by their perception, but because I knew the real person, it just looks like mime to me,” McKnight explained at the time. “Although I have to say, I found the clips of Elizabeth Debicki that I saw in the last season of The CrownI thought she was actually the first one to get it (right) somehow.”
McKnight further said that actress Emma Corrin, who also played Princess Diana in The CrownShe also “caught a glimpse, but the wigs weren’t that great.”
“But Elizabeth Debicki, I think they kind of got it right, you know,” she added. “It was as close (as the show got).”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Apparently, the entertainment industry’s powers agree with McKnight – Debicki won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the late queen in seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown.
The actress also received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
McKnight went on to explain how she eventually met the late Princess of Wales.
“We were booked for a shoot to photograph young royals for British Vogueand she happens to be the last one,” McKnight explained. “We didn’t know she was going to be – and then this tall, leggy blonde comes bouncing up the stairs and, guess what, she had already caught us at ‘hello.'”
The stylist said Princess Diana’s relaxed demeanor and overall demeanor made her “so disarming, charming and funny.”
“She held out her hand with a big smile and (said), ‘Hello, I’m Diana,'” she continued. “What do we do now?”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Princess Diana died in a horrific car accident in Paris, France on August 31, 1997. She was 36 years old.
At that time, her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were just 15 and 12 years old respectively.
In the 2017 BBC documentary Diana, 7 days, Prince William recalled feeling “completely numb, disorientated and dizzy” after learning of his mother’s untimely death.
“You feel very, very confused,” William said at the time. “And you’re constantly asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ All the time, ‘Why? What did I do? Why? Why did this happen to us?'”
