Renewed Self-Love

Pose Star Hailie Sahar Reveals Her Facial Birthmark For the Very First Time

Multihyphenate performer Hailie Sahar is no stranger to the spotlight, but she's been keeping one aspect of herself private for years — until now. In an exclusive interview with Allure, the Pose actress sat down with writer and artist Fatima Jamal to open up about her facial birthmark for the first time.
Royal Binion / @Royalismyname

There are parts of ourselves that we share and give to the world, and there are other parts we hold dear to the heart, for the self. This is not because we are ashamed but because of a daring pursuit of the choice to reveal and speak our truths as we see fit. For actress Hailie Sahar, this truth is a birthmark on the left side of her face, which greets her rosy red cheeks gently like a lovely kiss. It is part of her like breath and she’s been waiting to exhale. Behold: an utter yearning to unearth a fragment of her beauty.

“I feel like a prisoner to makeup,” Sahar tells Allure. “Especially now, with gaining fans and supporters from the projects I'm doing. They don't know [that] side of me so a part of me feels like I'm lying to them.”

I could feel her letting go. I imagined her releasing balloons into the air and smiling a smile as luminous as the sun in the sky. Now, she is revealing her birthmark for the very first time to share an unseen aspect of her life — one that her fans don’t already know about the star they know and love today. She continues, “A part of me feels like I may be able to connect to them on a different level if they know that I have a birthmark on my face.”

Royal Binion / @Royalismyname

Beauty is what we bring to it — it’s about the story we have to tell. I’m drawn to Sahar’s, of course, and therefore ask to learn more about her childhood and how her relationship with her appearance formed.

“I felt a lot of pressure growing up having a birthmark on my face,” she recalls. “You have to understand the type of family that I came from. On the religious side, my father's side, my family was very into how we looked — I remember being told at a very young age, 'You're cute but you have this birthmark on your face, and when you get older you need to get that removed.'”

It’s easy to internalize these things as a child, but Sahar was clear that it made her unique. “I didn't really feel connected to that mentality of shallowness,” she tells me. “I didn't see myself as anything different until grown adults started pointing things out to me.”

Royal Binion / @Royalismyname

In addition to her refreshing candidness, the Pose FX & Good Trouble star has an allure to her that is, simply put, special. Just one look at her Instagram offers you a glimpse into her ravishing style and beauty; she’s a glamour girl with obvious talent and pizzazz, and it’s no wonder why she lights up the screen as Lulu Abundance Ferocity.

In an interview with Nylon last year, Sahar describes how Paris Is Burning, 1990's now-legendary documentary on ball culture in New York City, helped jumpstart her own journey, both professionally and personally: "I stumbled upon Paris Is Burning through my best friend. I was blown away because I saw the most beautiful women. As I was watching, I didn't even know that they were transgender. I did not know that was possible, but it struck a chord in me. It [validated] what I have always felt about myself."

Soon after, Sahar went on to learn the art of ball firsthand as a young teenager, performing for the Los Angeles chapter of the House of Rodeo. Eventually, she became House Mother, walking Realness, Face, and Sex Siren. “The ballroom scene really gave me confidence and helped me find myself as a woman,” she tells me. “It allowed me to see a window into my sisters and to know that the world was possible.”

Using that knowledge base, Sahar grew her talents in a more formalized way. She explains, “I took that and then applied it to who I already was as an artist, in performing arts school, already auditioning for commercials and things, and intertwined the two.”

Drawing inspiration from icons like Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones, and Prince, Sahar also sings. “The choir is where I first got [interested] in music. I was that tambourine kid and the youth choir director,” she reminisces. “I have uncles that are really great singers. My whole family is artistically inclined, so I grew up already with that.”

New and longtime fans alike will be thrilled to learn that Sahar is currently working on a new single to be released this summer. “The vibe of it is fashion,” she shares. “It is about confidence and finding your personal niche, whatever that is for you. I think especially nowadays, things can be kind of trendy. I love people that are risk-takers, and so this song is about finding that.”

Royal Binion / @Royalismyname

Whether television, theatre, or a pageant, Hailie Sahar is one to watch, literally — there is no limit to the multihyphenate’s skill set. My first memory of her was her performance in the 2017 off-broadway production of Charm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village, in which she donned a faux fuchsia fur and fishnets as Ariela with sass and a story to tell.

“Theater really humbled me as an actress,” she says of the challenges these experiences in the performing arts afforded her. “I really had to find ways to connect with the audience every night. It kept me on edge.”

So, what’s next? She notes her dream roles as being a Bond girl as well as Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and continuing to lead her own production company, Sahar Productions.

Like an orchid blooming in the wake of spring, Sahar’s colorful presence is unfolding before us. A wondrous light with a love and passion, she aims to uplift and enlighten other people. She closes goal she undoubtedly already achieves through her work — not to mention her candidness in revealing her long-hidden, beautiful birthmark — one that will only be fulfilled further in the future: “I want everyone to have that heightened moment of feeling extraordinary while they're here.”

MODEL: HAILIE SAHAR // PHOTOGRAPHER: ROYAL BINION // HAIR: BRITTANY LOVE // MAKEUP: YVONNE // WARDROBE PROVIDED BY: IVAN BITTON & THE TREND HAUS


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