Bridgerton's Shonda Rhimes And More Mourn Death Of Emmy-Winning Crew Member

bridgerton season 1 featherington daughters nicola coughlan netflix screenshot
(Image credit: Netflix)

Those behind the Emmy-nominated, hit drama Bridgerton are now mourning one of their own, as crew member Marc Pilcher, who acted as the hair and makeup designer for Season 1, has now died. Pilcher, who was 53, had just won an Emmy for his work on the show, and now Shonda Rhimes and others are paying tribute to him and his work.

According to Variety, Marc Pilcher contracted COVID-19 after attending the Emmy Awards ceremony three weeks ago. He was double vaccinated and had no known underlying heath conditions, and despite testing negative on multiple occasions so that he could travel to Los Angeles from his home in the U.K. for the ceremony, became sick shortly after returning home. His condition worsened quickly, and he died on Sunday. Here's what Shonda Rhimes had to say about Pilcher upon learning of the sad news:

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Anyone who watched Bridgerton will know that Pilcher's Emmy for the show was very well deserved. While we all enjoyed the love stories, characters, and dialogue of the series, as a historical show there were a lot of details involved in making sure the cast of Bridgerton looked like they were gallivanting about Regency-era England. Pilcher was tasked with making sure the hair and makeup fit the period, and came up with some truly amazing designs. As star Nicola Coughlan said on Twitter:

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Pilcher was no stranger to receiving accolades for his work, and was also no stranger to designing hair and makeup for TV shows and movies set in decades past. In 2019, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his hair styling work on the film Mary Queen of Scots, which starred Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan. Pilcher also worked on Downton Abbey, and won three Hollywood Makeup Artist & Hairstyling Guild Awards, one each for his work on each historical series / movie.

Coughlan's post was shared on Instagram by her fellow Bridgerton star, Phoebe Dynevor, who added a simple "At a loss for words" to her comments. Coughlan ended her tribute by saying "Rest in Peace Marc" and using a heart emoji.

Pilcher began his career in theater, and began working in TV and film in the early 2000s. During his time in the industry, he worked with a number of beloved stars, including Madonna, Sir Ian McKellen, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Williams, Emily Blunt, and many others. His work will soon be seen in Matthew Vaughn’s second sequel in the Kingsman film franchise, The King’s Man.

Marc Pilcher is survived by his friends, family, and his pet cockapoo, Yuri. It's obvious that he and his talents will be missed, and our thoughts go out to all of his loved ones at this very difficult time.

Adrienne Jones
Senior Content Creator

Covering The Witcher, Outlander, Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias and a slew of other streaming shows, Adrienne Jones is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend, and started in the fall of 2015. In addition to writing and editing stories on a variety of different topics, she also spends her work days trying to find new ways to write about the many romantic entanglements that fictional characters find themselves in on TV shows. She graduated from Mizzou with a degree in Photojournalism.