# Lindy Hemming

Lindy Hemming (born 21 August 1948) is a Welsh costume designer. In a career spanning over four decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across independent films and blockbusters. She won an Academy Award in the category Best Costume Design for the film Topsy-Turvy (1999).

## Early life and education

Hemming was born on 21 August 1948, in Haverfordwest, Wales. She is the eldest of five children in the family. Her mother was a teacher who could draw, design, and make clothes, mostly converting children's hand-me-downs. Her father was a salesman and often worked as a woodcarver. She was brought up bilingually from an early age, speaking Welsh at school and English at home.
Hemming never considered design a profession nor even attended art school because her father convinced her that she should pursue a "worthwhile" job for a living. Having trained as an orthopaedic nurse instead, she later discovered that this experience was helpful in her career because it required working closely with people and observing and listening to them.
She eventually enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), being encouraged by the example of friends. Hemming initially intended to study stage management; however, she switched her major to design soon afterward.

## Career

Hemming began her professional career at London's Open Space Theatre, where she performed multitask duties and often operated on a limited budget, a commitment that lasted for over a decade. She also worked for several years at the Hampstead Theatre Club. During that time, Hemming met many prominent directors, such as Michael Rudman, Alan Ayckbourn, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, Howard Davies, and Nancy Meckler, who frequently asked her about collaboration on bigger-scale productions. She consequently made various designs for some of the biggest companies on the British stage and, at one point, had five London shows running simultaneously; those include productions for the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the West End. She also worked on Broadway and received a Tony Award for Best Costume Design nomination for the 1983 production of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well.
Beside her well-established theater career, Hemming is known for her prolific work on several high-profile film productions across independent films and blockbusters. In particular, she has had frequent collaborations with English auteur Mike Leigh on some of his most critically acclaimed films. She garnered great critics' praise and won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her lavishly detailed recreation of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 production of The Mikado in Leigh's 1999 period musical Topsy-Turvy. Hemming has also enjoyed the long-standing association with the James Bond film series, as she has designed the franchise's attire for more than a decade, starting from GoldenEye (1995) through Casino Royale (2006). Two of these pieces, which were featured in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), have been presented among other memorabilia in a special Bond-related exhibition at the Miami Auto Museum at the Dezer Collection.
Hemming achieved further critical acclaim for providing the costumes in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012). She won the Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Fantasy Film and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for her work in the series' second installment, 2008's The Dark Knight.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1983 | Meantime | Mike Leigh | Television film |
| 1984 | Comfort and Joy | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1985 | Loose Connections | Richard Eyre | |
| 1985 | Wetherby | David Hare | |
| 1985 | My Beautiful Laundrette | Stephen Frears | |
| 1986 | Heavenly Pursuits | Charles Gormley | aka Gospel According to Vic |
| 1987 | The Short and Curlies | Mike Leigh | Short film |
| 1988 | High Hopes | Mike Leigh | |
| 1989 | When the Whales Came | Clive Rees | |
| 1989 | Queen of Hearts | Jon Amiel | |
| 1990 | The Krays | Peter Medak | |
| 1990 | Life Is Sweet | Mike Leigh | |
| 1991 | Hear My Song | Peter Chelsom | |
| 1992 | Waterland | Stephen Gyllenhaal | |
| 1993 | Naked | Mike Leigh | |
| 1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Mike Newell | |
| 1994 | Sister My Sister | Nancy Meckler | |
| 1995 | Funny Bones | Peter Chelsom | |
| 1995 | GoldenEye | Martin Campbell | |
| 1996 | Blood and Wine | Bob Rafelson | |
| 1997 | The Brave | Gregory Mcdonald | |
| 1997 | Prince Valiant | Anthony Hickox | |
| 1997 | Tomorrow Never Dies | Roger Spottiswoode | |
| 1998 | Little Voice | Mark Herman | |
| 1999 | Topsy-Turvy | Mike Leigh | |
| 1999 | The Trench | William Boyd | |
| 1999 | The World Is Not Enough | Michael Apted | |
| 2000 | The Man Who Cried | Sally Potter | |
| 2001 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | Simon West | |
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Chris Columbus | |
| 2002 | Die Another Day | Lee Tamahori | |
| 2003 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life | Jan de Bont | |
| 2005 | Batman Begins | Christopher Nolan | |
| 2006 | Casino Royale | Martin Campbell | |
| 2008 | The Dark Knight | Christopher Nolan | |
| 2010 | Edge of Darkness | Martin Campbell | |
| 2010 | Clash of the Titans | Louis Leterrier | |
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | Christopher Nolan | |
| 2014 | Paddington | Paul King | |
| 2017 | Wonder Woman | Patty Jenkins | |
| 2017 | Paddington 2 | Paul King | |
| 2020 | Wonder Woman 1984 | Patty Jenkins | |
| 2023 | Wonka | Paul King | |

## Awards and nominations
### Major associations

Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 1999 | Best Costume Design | Topsy-Turvy | Won | |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| British Academy Film Awards |||||
| 1994 | Best Costume Design | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Costume Design | The Dark Knight | Nominated |
| British Academy Television Craft Awards |||||
| 1988 | Best Costume Design | Porterhouse Blue | Nominated |
| BAFTA Cymru |||||
| 2018 | Siân Phillips Award | — | Honored |
Tony Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 1983 | Best Costume Design | All's Well That Ends Well | Nominated | |

### Miscellaneous awards

List of Lindy Hemming other awards and nominations :
| Award | Year | Category | Title | Result |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 2005 | Excellence in Fantasy Film | Batman Begins | Nominated |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 2006 | Excellence in Contemporary Film | Casino Royale | Nominated |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 2008 | Excellence in Fantasy Film | The Dark Knight | Won |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 2017 | Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film | Wonder Woman | Won |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 2020 | Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film | Wonder Woman 1984 | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2017 | Best Costume Design | Wonder Woman | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2023 | Best Costume Design | Wonka | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | 2018 | Best Costume Design | Paddington 2 | Runner-up |
| Saturn Awards | 2002 | Best Costume Design | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 2005 | Best Costume Design | Batman Begins | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 2008 | Best Costume Design | The Dark Knight | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 2017 | Best Costume Design | Wonder Woman | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 2023/24 | Best Costume Design | Wonka | Nominated |