First Black Women to win the award for Best Costume Design: Ruth E. Carter
Ruth E. Carter took home the award for Best Costume Design for her work for Black Panther during the 91st annual Academy Awards in 2019. Carter is the first black woman to win the award.
Carter is an American Costume Designer for film and television, with over 40 films to her credit, who has mastered the look of multiple periods and genres in envisioning the clothing and overall appearance of a character or performer. During her near 30 year film career, Carter has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on Spike Lee’s biographical film Malcolm X, Steven Spielberg’s historical drama film Amistad, and her most recent work on Ryan Coogler’s Marvel superhero film Black Panther for which she won the award and became the first African-American to win an Academy Award in that category. That win was also the first Academy Award win for Marvel Studios.
In addition to designing costumes for the films of Spike Lee, Carter has worked with legendary directors such as Steven Spielberg and John Singleton, and has dressed actors from Denzel Washington to Josh Brolin, and actresses from Angela Bassett to Jane Fonda.
Ruth E. Carter is also known for her work on What’s Love Got to Do with It, Serenity, Four Brothers, Sparkle, The Butler directed by Lee Daniels, and Selma directed by Ava DuVernay.
Carter is currently designing costumes for the American television drama series Being Mary Jane on BET Networks, created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. Carter’s most recent work was on the Afrofuturist superhero Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler. Her costumes were inspired by many traditional African garments, including those of the Maasai and Ndebele people. She traveled to Southern Africa to draw aesthetic inspirations and received permission to incorporate traditional Lesotho designs into the film’s costumes.
Sources: