Join or Sign In

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Edith Head Biography

Birth Name:Edith Claire Posener

Birth Place:San Bernadino, California, United States

Profession Costume designer, Costume department, Actress

Fast Facts

After more than 40 years with Paramount, she joined Universal Pictures in 1967, where she worked until her death in 1981
Awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first costume designer to be given the honor
Despite having two degrees in language and starting out as a language arts teacher, she eventually parlayed her love of the arts into a decades-long career with Hollywood movie studios
Quote: "If it is a Paramount film, I probably designed it․"
Quote: "What a costume designer does is a cross between magic and camouflage․ We create the illusion of changing the actors ․․․ We ask the public to believe that every time they see a performer on the screen he's become a different person․"
Hired by Paramount Pictures in 1924 as a costume sketch artist despite lacking professional knowledge of art and costume design
Given more prestigious projects after meeting then-producer Cecil B․ DeMille, who enjoyed her tastes of current art and her staunch personality
Disliked by several of Hollywood's elite including well-known actress Claudette Colbert and director Mitchell Leisen for her brash personality and penchant for taking credit for others' work
Subject of a commemorative stamp made by the United States Postal Service in February 2003 celebrating American filmmakers
Tasked with creating new uniforms for female service members of the United States Coast Guard in the late 1970s to lure new female recruits

Awards

1949Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1950Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1951Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1951Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: winner
1952Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1953Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1953Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1954Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1955Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1956Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1956Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1957Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1957Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1958Oscar-Best Costume Design: nominated
1959Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color: nominated
1960Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1960Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1961Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: winner
1961Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1962Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1963Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1963Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1964Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1964Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1964Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1965Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1965Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1966Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1966Oscar-Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: nominated
1967Oscar-Best Costume Design, Color: nominated
1970Oscar-Best Costume Design: nominated
1971Oscar-Best Costume Design: nominated
1974Oscar-Best Costume Design: winner
1976Oscar-Best Costume Design: nominated
1976BAFTA Film Award-Best Costume Design: nominated
1978Oscar-Best Costume Design: nominated