Frances Turner is back in the Fallout<\/em> universe, returning as a series regular in Amazon Prime Video\u2019s critically acclaimed hit opposite Walton Goggins, as the buzz builds and the story deepens.<\/p>\n Turner reprises her role as Barb Howard, the pre-war wife of Goggins\u2019 Cooper Howard and mother to their daughter\u2014a character who upended expectations in the Season 1 finale. What initially appeared to be a devoted spouse was revealed to be something far more formidable: a strategic power player embedded deep within Vault-Tec\u2019s plans for a post-apocalyptic future. The twist reframed everything we thought we knew about Barb\u2014and the world of Fallout<\/em> itself.<\/p>\n As Season 2 unfolds (it premiered December 17 and continues with weekly episodes through February 4), Turner steps fully into the spotlight, with pivotal late-January episodes set to peel back the layers of Barb\u2019s ambition, intelligence and influence. That sharp complexity mirrors Turner\u2019s own unconventional path to Hollywood. Before acting, she built a successful career as a corporate attorney after graduating from Cornell University and Georgetown University Law Center, practicing at a major firm before making the leap to the screen.<\/p>\n Since then, Turner has established herself as a dynamic and thoughtful performer, consistently bringing intelligence and emotional depth to her roles. In addition to\u00a0Fallout<\/em>, her standout credits include Prime Video\u2019s\u00a0The Boys<\/em>,\u00a0The Man in the High Castle<\/em> and\u00a0New Amsterdam<\/em>.<\/p>\n As Barb\u2019s full backstory comes into focus, we sat down with Turner to talk \u201950s beauty and walking the \u201cmoral tightrope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really excited for fans to see more of Barb\u2019s interior self. We learned a lot about her in Season 1 through the point of view of, essentially, Coop. This season, we\u2019re going to learn more about Barb from Barb. We\u2019ll see her experiences from her point of view as she\u2019s living them\u2014her decisions, why she\u2019s making them and the consequences that follow. She\u2019s really walking a moral tightrope, and that would be a lot on anyone\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n There are things she wants, and she does want to protect her family. She\u2019s also navigating the Vault-Tec life. That\u2019s where we\u2019re going to find her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very exciting. The most exciting thing has been how game fans have embraced the show. Fans of video games are a tough bunch\u2014if they don\u2019t love a show, they\u2019ll let you know! But they\u2019ve embraced it, and they\u2019ve embraced the characters, including the new ones. We\u2019re not copying or following stories from the games, but we got the world right. We had to get the world right\u2014the lore\u2014and it truly sits within the world of Fallout<\/em>. For fans to embrace the new characters and see the games reflected in the show is really awesome.<\/p>\n Then, to also have fans who came to the show without knowing anything about the games embrace it\u2014and not find it confusing to get immersed\u2014I think is a real win. That\u2019s been really exciting to watch unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI always say Barb is a fashion girlie because her wardrobe is incredible. Huge shout-out to our wardrobe and costumes department, led by Dayna Pink\u2014especially in Season 2. For the most part, her wardrobe is designed and built entirely by our costumes department. Everything is original. It\u2019s the vintage \u201950s aesthetic, but with a future spin on it. There\u2019s very little I have to do, in my mind, to become Barb. I just put on her clothes, and then the hair goes on.<\/p>\n To me, her hair reminds me of all the icons I love\u2026 Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt. I learned so much more about it, especially spit curls. This season, Barb wears a lot of spit curls. We have a great head of the hair department, Dennis Bailey. Just stepping into the hair, the makeup, the wardrobe and then onto our sets\u2014which are art in and of themselves\u2014there\u2019s very little work that your imagination has to do to get you to the place you need to be for whatever the circumstances are of the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wash my makeup off. That is on set or in life! I don\u2019t sleep in makeup, so I make sure I wash it off as soon as I\u2019m done. I have a skin-care brand that I\u2019ve used for a really long time called Botnia. It\u2019s small, natural and sustainable. An aesthetician used their products on me years ago, and I\u2019ve just stuck with them. I use the peptides and all of those things. I just really try to take really good care of my skin and keep it hydrated and moisturized. I love little gadgets, so I use red light therapy and things like that. The most important thing for me is that my approach to beauty and skin care is that it supports the work I do on the inside.<\/p>\n I also hydrate. I drink a lot of water, yes, because it\u2019s great for the skin\u2014but I also hydrate my energy and my spirit. What I\u2019m feeding my soul gives me that glow from the inside out, and my skin care just supports that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some things I\u2019m interested in that are in conversation that I can\u2019t talk about quite yet, but I\u2019m really looking forward to diving back into Barb\u2019s journey. As you know, we already have a Season 3, and we\u2019re continuing along the lines of stepping into the shoes of three-dimensional, complex, nuanced women\u2014women who find themselves navigating the space between who they are, who they want to be and how the world sees them.<\/p>\n I love a woman who, from the outside, you think is one thing, and then you uncover layers and layers about her. Barb is not just an archetype\u2014she holds many different parts of herself at once. I\u2019m really looking forward to doing more of that work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhat are you excited for fans to see for your character, specifically, and the whole second season?<\/h2>\n
When the phone rang to share that you were picked up for Season 2, how did that call go?<\/h2>\n
![\"Frances](\"https:\/\/cdn-cjhgk.nitrocdn.com\/CXxGixRVyChwAxySbAyltuCiQXRKaWDN\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-9dad235\/www.newbeauty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FRANCES2041-copy-683x1024.jpg\")
How does your glam and your character\u2019s fashion change over the episodes? Since you are going through different time periods, how does that work in getting the hair, makeup and clothing right?<\/h2>\n
Do you have any go-to skin care you use when you wrap on set for the day?<\/h2>\n
Is there anything you\u2019re excited about for the New Year, in addition to the show? <\/h2>\n