Ruth E. Carter

Ruth E. Carter (born April 10, 1960) is an American costume designer for film and television. She is best known for her collaborations with Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Ryan Coogler. During her film career, Carter has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, for her work on Lee's biographical film Malcolm X (1992), Steven Spielberg's historical drama film Amistad (1997), and winning twice for Coogler's Marvel superhero films Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). She was the first African-American to win and be nominated for Best Costume Design and the first Black woman to win multiple Academy Awards in any category. Her other film credits include Do the Right Thing (1989), What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), Love & Basketball (2000), Serenity (2005), The Butler (2013), Selma (2014), Marshall (2017), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), and Coming 2 America (2021).
Early life and education
Carter was born on April 10, 1960, in Springfield, Massachusetts, in a single-parent household. Her mother is Mabel Carter, and she was the youngest of eight children. At nine years old, she began attending the Boys & Girls Club. Using her mother's sewing machine, Carter learned from the organization how to read and design simplicity patterns. She graduated in 1978 from Technical High School, Springfield, Ma. In 1982, Carter graduated from Hampton Institute, later renamed Hampton University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts.
Career
After graduating, Carter returned to her hometown, working as an intern for City Stage's costume department and then the Santa Fe Opera. In 1986, she moved to Los Angeles to work at the city's Theater Center. While working there, Carter met director Spike Lee, who hired her for his second film, School Daze (1988). She continued working on his subsequent films, including Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), and Malcolm X (1992).
Aside from her work with Spike Lee, Carter also designed costumes for Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997) and several of John Singleton's films, such as Rosewood (1997) and Baby Boy (2001). She further designed costumes for the American television drama series Being Mary Jane on BET Networks, created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union.
Carter worked on the superhero film Black Panther (2018), directed by Ryan Coogler. Deriving from Afrofuturism, 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. At the 91st Academy Awards, she won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, making her the first Black woman to win the Academy Award in the category.
In 2021, Carter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the film category.
In 2023, Carter won her second Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). During her acceptance speech, Carter dedicated her win to her mother, who had died during the prior week at the age of 101. Also in 2023, the North Carolina Museum of Art hosted an exhibit displaying more than sixty of Carter's original garments.
Filmography
Film
Television
Being Mary Jane (2013–2019)
Roots (2016)
Awards and nominations
2002: American Black Film Festival, Career Achievement Award
2015: Essence, 2015 Black Women in Hollywood Award at the 8th Annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon
2019: Costume Designers Guild, Career Achievement Award
2019: Suffolk University, Honorary Degree - Doctor of Humane Letters
2020: SDFCS Awards, Best Costume Design, Dolemite Is My Name
2020: Satellite Awards, Best Costume Design, Dolemite Is My Name
2023: FashFilmFete, Costume Design Career Achievement Award in Film
Bibliography
References
Further reading
External links
1960 births
Living people
African-American designers
American costume designers
Artists from Springfield, Massachusetts
Best Costume Design Academy Award winners
Hampton University alumni
Women costume designers
21st-century American artists
21st-century American women artists
21st-century African-American artists
20th-century American artists
20th-century American women artists
20th-century African-American artists