“There is no such thing as natural beauty.”
Why it's great
It sums up a trade's whole creed in one crisp, quotable line.
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Use it yourself
There is no such thing as overnight success.
00:00 / 04:16
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Truvy Hires Annelle, Explained
Steel Magnolias · 1989
Chapter 2 of 16 · 4'16"
Truvy breaks in her new hire Annelle with the shop's gospel — "There is no such thing as natural beauty" — then settles in to gossip. When Clairee arrives, the small talk turns to who got hit by a baseball and just how much past an eighteen-year-old can have.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 3:19–4:02
Truvy Likes a Girl With a Past
43s
Truvy Hires Annelle, explained
What happens
In Truvy's beauty shop, the owner introduces her new assistant Annelle to her husband Louie, then sets about training her: announcing that "there is no such thing as natural beauty." Annelle explains she is new in town and living alone across the river. When the widow Clairee stops by, the women trade news and gossip, including a report that Janice Van Meter was hit in the head by a baseball.
What's really going on
The scene looks like harmless small talk, but it sets out the rules of this town. Truvy's line — "there is no such thing as natural beauty" — is only half a joke: in a shop where everyone is seen, being seen well is part of belonging. The gossip about Ruth Robeline and Janice Van Meter shows how quickly a stranger becomes a story here, and Clairee's warning to "get to the bottom of" Annelle's past is the town's reflex: a young married woman living alone is either a mystery or a threat. Truvy shrugs it off, saying she likes hiring "somebody with a past."
Key lines & what they mean
- “There is no such thing as natural beauty.”
- Truvy's shop creed, delivered like scripture: looking this good is work, so a beautician's job is never done.
- “When it comes to suffering, she is right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.”
- Truvy's joke about her gloomy landlady, ranking Ruth's hard luck alongside the famously tragic Elizabeth Taylor.
- “If you achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.”
- Her retort when Clairee says an eighteen-year-old has no past: in this town, a past comes with growing up.
- “Annelle was the valedictorian of the hairdo class.”
- Her backhanded boast about the new hire, top of her beauty-school class, though a hairdo class is thin pedigree.
Theme
- Friendship — The shop runs on gossip and jokes; the women bond by trading news and sizing up the newcomer.
- Secrets — Annelle is married yet living alone, and Clairee wants to get to the bottom of it before trusting her.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level4/8
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“When it comes to suffering, she is right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.”
Why it's great
It ranks someone's pain like a chart, which is exactly how small-town gossip stings.
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Informal
Use it yourself
When it comes to coffee, she is right up there with the best baristas.
“If you achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.”
Why it's great
One verb repeated as a joke makes experience sound like an age requirement.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
If you finish one shift, you can finish the week.
“Annelle was the valedictorian of the hairdo class.”
Why it's great
A small-town honor turns an ordinary hairdressing class into a graduation with a top student.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
She was the valedictorian of the forklift class.
Up next · 03a bone to pick withThe scene: Shelby's Wedding MorningTakeaways
What you walk away with- Gossip here is affection as much as judgment.
- Truvy's beauty creed lands as a one-line thesis.
- Clairee's deadpan delivery turns injury into comedy.
- A newcomer's silence feeds the town's curiosity.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Truvy hire Annelle so quickly?
Judy quit the day before and Truvy needs someone at once, so she calls the trade school and asks them to send "a warm body," then keeps Annelle because she finished top of her class.
What does "talk some trash" mean?
It means to gossip idly about other people. Truvy proposes it to Annelle the way a host offers coffee, as the shop's way of passing the day.
Why does Clairee suspect Annelle?
Annelle says she is married but is living alone at Ruth Robeline's boarding house, so Clairee warns Truvy to learn the truth "if you have silverware you'd like to keep."
Why does Truvy like hiring someone with a past?
She jokes that she prefers it; it fits the shop's habit of taking people as they are rather than judging them by reputation.
Who is Janice Van Meter, and why is everyone glad she got hit?
She is the current mayor's wife, whom the women dislike. Clairee reports she was hit in the head by a baseball at the park dedication and jokes that it was "fabulous."