RaMona Fleetwood

RaMona Joy Fleetwood was born in New Mexico in 1956 where her father was the manager for the Federal Wildlife Refuge "Bosca Del Apache" by Socorro, New Mexico, and later raised on "Santa Anna National Wildlife Refuge" on the furthermost southern tip of the Rio Grande' river in Texas. RaMona rode rodeo early on and was training cutting horses and Appaloosas until 1977 when she divorced, took her 2-year-old daughter, Kristina Pullon Ledford, and studied welding in Texas until after the loss of her best friend and then went to Michael's School of Beauty in Longview, Texas. Three weeks after passing her State Board Exam in Austin, her mother phoned her to come take her dad to an extras casting call in the town of Marshall, Texas...it was Sept. 16, 1979 (her birthday), and the show was a Gaylord show Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981) with Ben Johnson, Don Johnson, Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Anthony Zerbe. They noticed her spirit was a bit different for folks in East Texas. She credits Creator for putting her in the right place at the right time as the second AD Ron Wright took her to meet a man named Marvin G. Westmore and another make up man named Layne Britton as well as stunt coordinator Glenn R. Wilder. RaMona helped Mr. Westmore with a benefit for his church and when knowledge seeking wasn't too keen in those parts -- only a few showed. Mr. Westmore invited her to LA. She loaded everything she owned into a chartreuse Vega and followed the late, great dolly grip Richard Dow, across a blizzard to LA. With a quarter in her pocket, she called Marvin, rented a room, and worked in Marvin's studio in Beverly Hills as a Hairdresser. Men did make up, and the women did hair then. She never really attended a formal make up school, just beauty school in Longview, Texas...recently while on location(Niki Caro project) in New Mexico a lady named Sally Harper asked when she took her state board in Texas and what year? Sure enough, Sally had been her examiner and remembered her bringing an African-American as a model. When asked why, RaMona simply said, "To show you I'm a hair dresser!" That was in 1979. Sally's reply was, "Well, I guess you are. Look where you are today!" Small world, eh? Let's paint it and part it! Sally has been with Sissy Spacek 30 years now. Additional education was acquired working for free, books, trial and error and just plain passion for it. RaMona cut hair and understudied everyone she could. She still shares and learns new "old tricks" every day. In 2005, RaMona is still very much at it as a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 706 (Journeyman Hair Stylist) and I.A.T.S.E Local 480 (Make Up and Hair). She and her daughter own make-up company www.Lastlooks.com. Ms. Fleetwood is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as a representative of the Swiss cosmetic company, Gerda Spillmann. RaMona also works privately for law enforcement operations and was credited on The Roann Story where she helped the D.A. of San Diego and detectives "send up" a man who beat his gals face in with a hammer and then put a "contract" out on her while waiting for trial on attempted man-slaughter. This story has been on 20/20 (1993), Hard Copy (1989) and Leeza (1994).