It seems that Martha MacCallum and her Fox News cohorts are so rarely seen without makeup that anytime it happens, the occasion deserves a splashy “breaking news” alert. But when MacCallum allows fans to see her without her glam, it’s usually by casually dropping photos on her socials.
Advertisement
Despite her long career in broadcast journalism, the Fox News anchor is not immune from on-air blunders, but at least her makeup almost always looks impeccable whether she’s defending Donald Trump, giving Volodymyr Zelenskyy a verbal beatdown, or ruthlessly roasting Selena Gomez for daring to shed tears over the children being impacted by the Trump administration’s deportations. And if she comes off as a meticulously made-up mean girl sometimes, perhaps that’s by design. While discussing the high-glam beauty looks sported by Fox News’ female hosts, makeup artist Meli Pennington told The Atlantic, “It’s like the b***hy girl in high school, [but] now she’s your friend, and you hate the same people.”
Advertisement
MacCallum joined the Fox News team in 2004, so she was one of the early adopters of the Republican makeup trend favored by Trump acolytes such as Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose beauty looks are often tasteless, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who keeps making the same makeup mistake. Before going on air, MacCallum dutifully gets dolled up with the heavy makeup and thick strip lashes Guilfoyle has taken to the next level. But when she’s not wearing makeup, it seems that “The Story” host likes to hide her naked peepers behind dark shades.
Martha MacCallum needs sleep to look her best without her Fox glam
While in Las Vegas for the 2016 presidential debates, Martha MacCallum stopped and posed for a selfie with the city’s iconic welcome sign during a run. She appeared to be going makeup-free during her sweat sesh and had her eyes covered with purple-lensed sunglasses. She snagged a similar fresh-faced photo to share with her Instagram followers while getting her cardio in during a 2024 trip to Paris.
Advertisement
MacCallum has spilled some secrets about how she keeps her skin looking so healthy when it’s totally bare. One is a drugstore buy, Bio Oil, and another is something money can’t buy. “I feel like sleep is probably the hardest thing to get when we’re in the middle of these kinds of cycles in an election year,” she told Allure in 2016. Luckily, sunglasses aren’t just good for hiding a lack of liner and mascara; they also disguise undereye bags from long days and late nights. So, if she’s one of those news anchors who are barely recognizable when going makeup-free, it’s a bit tough to tell from the photos above and below.
MacCallum performed in some off-Broadway plays when she was younger, so she was likely somewhat used to wearing theatrical makeup before she started working for her disgraced late boss, Fox News founder Roger Ailes, a former Broadway producer who reportedly cared deeply about his employees’ appearances. Of how he viewed his female employees, Hannah Groch-Begley of Media Matters told Vice, “They’re there for their physical appearance. They’re there as eye candy.” But in a 2017 Time essay, MacCallum wrote of herself and her female Fox colleagues, “Our success is not about hair color or skirts. It’s about elbow grease, dedication and sacrificing time with our families and friends.”
Advertisement
