'Orange Is the New Black' Honors Late Makeup Artist Karen Reuter With a Touching Tribute

Orange Is the New Black has turned many of its stars into household names, but there are also some incredible behind-the-scenes talent who are essential to the show's success. Karen Reuter was a makeup artist and beloved member of the OITNB family. 

Sadly, Karen passed away in January 2019 after a battle with cancer, but the Orange Is the New Black cast and crew paid tribute to her during the show's newly released seventh season. 

According to Karen's IMDB page, she worked as a key makeup artist on OITNB for 20 episodes between 2013 and 2014. She then became the makeup department head for Orange Is the New Black episodes filmed in 2015 and 2016. 

The cast and crew on Orange Is the New Black dedicated the episode titled "The Big House" to Karen's memory. They thanked her for her innumerable contributions to OITNB with a simple but sweet title card which read, "In loving memory of Karen Reuter."

Karen's daughter, Simone Fabbo, Instagrammed a photo of the Orange Is the New Black tribute to her mom. "Thank you @oitnb for dedicating an entire episode to the memory of my mom," Simone wrote. "For those of you who don't know my mother’s profession, she was a makeup artist on the show up until she fell very ill last September."

"#OITNB was her family away from home," Simone wrote. "The loss of her life not only affected her family and close friends, but everyone she worked with on set. This dedication to her life not only immortalizes her name forever, but it gives others the opportunity to look into who she was and what a wonderful woman, artist, and mother she was. My mom was one cool lady, and it warms my heart to hear the wonderful impact her spirit had on others."

Karen worked in show business for over 30 years. She was a makeup artist on a wide variety of projects, including Pee-wee's Playhouse, 200 Cigarettes, The Sopranos, Step Up 3D,  Project Runway, The Big Gay Sketch Show, and of course, Orange Is the New Black.

All of the teams Karen worked with through the years have incredible things to say about her, but it seems she had an extra special bond with the OITNB cast and crew. 

After Karen's passing, Kate Mulgrew (who plays Galina "Red" Reznikov on OITNB) tweeted a touching tribute to her beloved makeup artist, writing, "Farewell to a warm-eyed woman wearing low-slung dungarees and a wry smile at 6 a.m., whose work ethic was surpassed only by her bravery, which she revealed through laughter, kindness, and a turning away from self."

Orange Is the New Black is now streaming on Netflix.