Ruth E. Carter

Ruth E. Carter is a trailblazing, two-time Academy Award-winning American film costume designer, celebrated for her work in bringing to life the vibrant and culturally rich costumes of Black Panther. Carter made history as the first Black person to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, securing Marvel Studios' first Oscar in the process. She repeated this groundbreaking success with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, becoming the first Black woman to win multiple Academy Awards in any category and the first costume designer to win for both a film and its sequel.

Carter's costumes for Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are a tribute to the people of Africa, blending traditional and contemporary elements with modern technology. She skilfully created Afrofuturistic designs that honour ancient cultures, empower the female form, and provide unparalleled representation on screen. In Wakanda Forever, she expanded her innovative designs, introducing new superhero costumes and the underwater world of Talokan. Tasked with creating hundreds of costumes, Carter crafted visually stunning pieces inspired by both Wakandan culture and post-classic Mesoamerican Maya culture, merging history with imagination. With over three decades of experience and more than seventy credits in film, television, and theatre, Carter has worked with directors such as Spike Lee Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, and Ryan Coogler. Her designs span iconic films like Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, What’s Love Got to Do with It, Amistad, Selma, Dolemite Is My Name, Coming 2 America, and the Black Panther franchise. Through her meticulous costume design, Carter enriches narratives, especially those centred on African American experiences, solidifying her as a preeminent voice in period genres and Afro aesthetics.

Her career achievements include Academy Award nominations for Malcolm X (1993) and Amistad (1998), as well as an Emmy nomination for the miniseries reboot of “Roots” (2016). In 2019, she was honoured with the Costume Designers Guild’s Career Achievement Award and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021. A member of the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Carter represents the Costume Designers Branch, championing diversity in storytelling.

Carter's contributions to costume design are an American cultural treasure, celebrated in her traveling exhibition Afrofuturism in Costume Design, and her book The Art of Ruth E. Carter, released in May 2023. The exhibit showcases 60 costumes from Carter’s illustrious filmmaking career, infused with artistry, offering an intimate glimpse into her creative process and the iconic designs she’s brought to life on screen. After traveling to seven cities, the exhibition is currently in residence at the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Virginia, and is set to travel next to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Carter is beloved in her hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, where a mural of her life and career is displayed at Rebecca Johnson Elementary School. She was awarded the key to the city in 2021 for her achievements and service. Ruth Carter is a proud graduate of Hampton University, Virginia (HBCU), and has earned honorary doctorates from Hampton University, Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, and Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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Image credit: Jaxon Photo Group

Source: TMDB, August 2023