Santa Fe Springs Resident Receives Emmy

By Sandra T. Molina, Staff Writer

SANTA FE SPRINGS - The third time was the charm for Santa Fe Springs resident Margie Puga recently when she won an Emmy for her work on a popular soap opera. The longtime hairstylist to regular folks and movie and television stars received her Emmy for her work on the soap opera, "Days of Our Lives," in a ceremony in New York two weeks ago.

It was such a surprise," Puga, 61, said Wednesday from the set of "The Biggest Loser," where she also works. "I didn't expect it, because I had been nominated the previous two years," she said.

But the Santa Fe High School alumnus should have listened to her mother, Lupe Serrano. "I told her as she walked out the door, she was going to win," she said. "I'm so proud of her, as is the whole family," Serrano said. So is Puga's younger brother, Councilman Joe Serrano. "It's fantastic; she totally deserves it," he said. It should come as no surprise Puga got into the hairdressing business.

She followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, who was a barber, and an aunt, who had her own beauty salon. But it was Puga's mother who inadvertently started her daughter on the road to styling success. It was just weeks after graduating from high school, when a girlfriend of Puga's asked if she wanted to attend beauty school with her. "I asked my mom for permission, and she said `yes' before I could get the entire question out," Puga recalled. She admitted her mom was concerned because Puga had just been watching television since graduation, with no real career goal in mind. That quickly changed. After just one day at the Marinello Schools of Beauty campus in East Los Angeles, she was hooked. "I loved it," Puga said. "I found my calling."

After several years of doing hair in local shops, a friend suggested Puga apply for entertainment-related work. This was in 1995. She started off doing hair at the Ahmanson Theatre and other theaters for shows such as "Phantom of the Opera." "I love doing period pieces because you approach them differently than modern hairstyles," Puga said.

A few years later, she landed on the set of "Days of Our Lives." "Working in TV is totally different than anything else because of the lights, the fast pace and the cameras," Puga said. "The cameras pick up everything, even a hair out of place." Another difference, she said, was the trust she had to earn from the actors. "It took a few years for them to trust I would make them look their best," Puga said. She has a close working relationship with the actors and producers, since they know the look they want for the scenes. All in all, Puga - who says her biggest fan is daughter Monique Puga, 37 - feels lucky to have a successful career. "I get to do what I love, have the support of my family, and get to make people look their best," Puga said. "I am very fortunate."