Danna immigrated to the United States alone in 1994. She landed with two suitcases and borrowed money to pay her way here. She truly believes that with determination and hard work one can achieve anything. After suffering injures following a bad car accident in 2003 causing multiple back surgeries, she’s finally fully recovered. She’s going through a bit of a rebirth after recently purchasing her first home, beginning her “Shear Genius” adventure and she says she’s just getting started.
RC: How did you hear about the show & what made you want to apply?Danna: I work for Allen Edwards who is extremely well known in the industry. He created the Farrah Fawcett hairstyle for Charlie’s Angels. He told me about it & I jumped at the opportunity. I got to be challenged in a way we don’t normally get to in the salon which was completely appealing to me.
RC: Tell us a little about your training & background.
Danna: I’m originally from South Africa & my mother was a hairdresser. I’ve always said it’s in my blood. I practically grew up in the salon. I trained in South Africa & Israel. It’s pretty expensive compared to the American system. When I came to America, I had already been in the salon for years.
RC: What is it about getting your work on the Allure Wall of Fame that gets people sent home the very next week?
Danna: Had I known that, I wouldn’t have done such a fabulous Vanessa Williams style the week before! I learned that that hard way.
RC: It’s interesting that the judges do not consider your body of work but rather eliminate challenge to challenge? Did you know that was how it would be going in?
Danna: Going in, you just focus on your skill, your talent, and doing the best. You don’t know how the judges are going to work so you just do your best. You hope they’ll take into consideration your style before or your body of work but I guess … each challenge … it really was your final cut. There was no room for error, no room for forgiveness. It was do or die. That’s what made it so stressful. It was there & then in that moment.
RC: You guys had a challenge where you had to recreate hair from different eras & you got the 40s. What was your initial reaction?
Danna: When we were first standing there checking out the different eras, I had done era work in the past so I wasn’t really concerned. I wasn’t really anxious about it. That’s why I went on the show – to do fun stuff & challenging stuff. How many times does someone come in to a salon & say, “I want a 40s style today.” I wasn’t excited, I was like, “Oh my God, this is a challenging era because it can be interpreted so many ways.” I wasn’t thinking sexy Hollywood, I was thinking pre-war era.
RC: Were you satisfied with your final product on that challenge or were you worried you might be in the bottom?
Danna: In hindsight, I was like, “Damn what was I thinking?” I should’ve known to go from Hollywood glamour!
RC: What was your favorite challenge to do?
Danna: I loved the hair art challenge. That was so out there, we really go to express a personal taste. The fact that we got to run around like crazy people for 10 minutes then come up with something creative was so much fun. I was completely impressed with my work – I thought it rocked!
RC: Who did you feel was your biggest competition on the show?
Danna: I’m not just saying this to be politically correct but I really felt as time went on, each challenge was going to present its own challenge. There were definitely stylists that I didn’t feel threatened by at all. Tabatha, Anthony, and Daisy were definitely people I respected as stylists.
RC: Where can we find you now & what are you doing?
Danna: I am back in the salon working at Allen Edwards Salon in California. I am just going to continue to pursue the career that I love!
Shear Genius airs on
Bravo Wednesday nights at 10pm EST
After the nationwide vote (and over 70 million came in), Ryan announced the new American Idol ... Jordin Sparks! I love a good Cinderella story. Jordin actually dropped out of traditional high school & soon after, tried out for Idol in L.A. Producers rejected her & she never made it to the judges. Good thing Sparks was determined. She got herself to Seattle (also where Blake Lewis auditioned) and got a big "YES" for Hollywood from Simon, Randy, and Paula. Thus, an Idol was born.
