Are you a fan of American Horror Story? The series picked up quite a few fans over the years. Some were drawn to its unique style and others were captivated by its unconventional scares. Most of us, though, were drawn to its characters…this show had some of the most unique characters in television history, and there’s no better example of this than Pepper.
Pepper is an unforgettable character due largely to her bizarre appearance. However, that appearance is due to a powerful combination of makeup and prosthetic effects that completely transformed actor Naomi Grossman’s appearance. Most fans don’t even know what she really looks like, much less the unconventional journey she took to Hollywood fame.
Care to learn more about one of the most talented character actors in cinematic history? Keep reading to discover all about Grossman’s Pepper and why the actor is actually unrecognizably beautiful in real life!
An introduction to Pepper
Have you never watched American Horror Story? Or maybe you half watched it long ago and need a refresher? Either way, you may need an introduction to Pepper’s character before we dive into the woman who brought her to life. In short, this is a woman who suffers from microcephalia, which explains her unconventional appearance. This condition, combined with the fact that she is short and nearly mute, gives Pepper a kind of otherworldly appearance.
This is only fitting because she fits right in as one of the performers in Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities. She actually married a fellow performer, but after his untimely death, Pepper gets accused (unfairly) of infanticide. This is why she’s sentenced to spend the rest of her life in a mental asylum, giving her one of the saddest stories in the show.
The woman behind this unforgettable character
The Pepper character is instantly recognizable to fans of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story because of her unusual appearance. The woman behind this performance is Naomi Grossman, a character actor who looks nothing like her most famous character. She’s really quite lovely (more on this later), but it turns out that even talent and beauty aren’t enough to instantly land someone their dream job in Hollywood.
She found this out the hard way: born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Grossman learned early on that she had an interest in performing in local plays. Soon enough, she was performing in the children’s theater every week. And when she got a little older, she attended Northwestern University and majored in theater, knowing that performance would be a major part of her life from then on.
Still, she hadn’t yet taken the plunge and moved to where the jobs would be. The motivation to make such a big move came unexpectedly, though. It wasn’t a job that made her move to Los Angeles…it was a boy.
Starting a new life (in more ways than one)
Naomi Grossman maintains that she would have moved out to Los Angeles sooner rather than later to pursue her dreams of acting. But what originally brought her out to the City of Angels was that she was dating a boy who had moved there. Once she graduated from Northwestern, she moved to LA to be with her man.
Things didn’t work out, though…sadly, the two of them broke up almost as soon as she got there. However, Grossman later told Tenere Williams how everything ultimately worked out for her: “I’m in a new city, I don’t have a job, I don’t have a place to live, I don’t have many friends, and suddenly, I didn’t have a boyfriend,” she said. “But I think it was a gift in disguise…to be on my own and forced to explore and not get too comfortable.”
A scary hair and makeup routine
At this point, Naomi Grossman began really earnestly focusing on her Hollywood career. She lost weight, got professional head shots, sent out audition tapes, etc. Eventually, this paid off, and she got the role of Pepper in American Horror Story.
The role opened many career doors and changed her life and career. But this role also transformed her appearance primarily through the use of prosthetics. She wore fake ears, a fake nose, fake teeth, and she even covered her hands with silicone. This required extensive time in the hair and makeup chair, but that was time well spent because it earned her legions of fans…albeit ones that mostly don’t know what she really looks like.
The actor looks unrecognizable to fans
If you’ve ever wondered what Pepper looked like without all the makeup and prosthetics, here you go! This is Naomi Grossman in all her glory. With her long hair, mesmerizing eyes, and full lips, she looks absolutely nothing like the monstrous character she played on TV.
As for Grossman, she’s aware of the irony that she is very beautiful and the character she played is…well…not. Speaking with Salon in 2014, she quipped that ”I’ve never been told I was so pretty until I played the ugliest person on TV.” Given how beautiful she is, though, it’s honestly hard to believe the actor wasn’t hearing these compliments long before Pepper appeared on our screens.