Edith Head
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․"
- Given more prestigious projects after meeting then-producer Cecil B․ DeMille, who enjoyed her tastes of current art and her staunch personality
- Hired by Paramount Pictures in 1924 as a costume sketch artist despite lacking professional knowledge of art and costume design
- 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