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 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 won twice for Coogler's Marvel superhero films Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022); this made her the first African-American to win and be nominated for Best Costume Design. She was nominated for a fifth time for her work in Coogler's Sinners (2025), breaking the record for most-nominated Black woman in Oscar history.
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), Coming 2 America (2021). She also received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Period Costumes for a Limited Series, for her work on the 2016 miniseries Roots. Carter is the recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the Costume Designers Guild Awards, in addition to receiving two competitive awards from the organization.
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, Massachusetts. 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.
Carter won two Oscars for Costume Design for Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, making history as the first African-American in that category. She also made history being the first African-American woman to win multiple Oscars in any category. A four-time Academy Award nominee, also for Malcolm X and Amistad, she has 50 feature film credits including The Butler, Selma, and Marshall; she also received the 2019 Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award.
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.
On January 22, 2026, Carter was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on Sinners; this was her fifth Academy Award nomination, making her the most nominated black woman in the history of the Academy Awards.
Filmography Film Year Title Director 1988 School Daze Spike Lee I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Keenen Ivory Wayans 1989 Do the Right Thing Spike Lee 1990 Mo' Better Blues 1991 House Party 2 Doug McHenryGeorge Jackson Jungle Fever Spike Lee The Five Heartbeats Robert Townsend 1992 Malcolm X Spike Lee 1993 The Meteor Man Robert Townsend What's Love Got to Do with It Brian Gibson 1994 Cobb Ron Shelton Crooklyn Spike Lee Surviving the Game Ernest R. Dickerson 1995 Money Train Joseph Ruben Clockers Spike Lee 1996 The Great White Hype Reginald Hudlin 1997 B*A*P*S Robert Townsend Rosewood John Singleton Amistad Steven Spielberg 1999 Summer of Sam Spike Lee 2000 Price of Glory Carlos Ávila Love & Basketball Gina Prince-Bythewood Shaft John Singleton Bamboozled Spike Lee 2001 Baby Boy John Singleton Dr. Dolittle 2 Steve Carr 2002 I Spy Betty Thomas 2003 Daddy Day Care Steve Carr 2004 Against the Ropes Charles S. Dutton 2005 Four Brothers John Singleton Serenity Joss Whedon 2008 Meet Dave Brian Robbins 2009 Spread David Mackenzie Black Dynamite Scott Sanders Imagine That Karey Kirkpatrick 2010 Frankie & Alice Geoffrey Sax 2011 Abduction John Singleton 2012 Sparkle Salim Akil 2013 Teen Beach Movie Jeffrey Hornaday Oldboy Spike Lee The Butler Lee Daniels 2014 The Best of Me Michael Hoffman Selma Ava DuVernay Da Sweet Blood of Jesus Spike Lee 2015 Chi-Raq 2016 Keeping Up with the Joneses Greg Mottola 2017 Kidnap Luis Prieto Marshall Reginald Hudlin 2018 Black Panther Ryan Coogler 2019Above Suspicion Phillip Noyce Dolemite Is My Name Craig Brewer 2021Coming 2 America 2022Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Ryan Coogler 2025SinnersThe Pickup Tim Story 2027 The Thomas Crown Affair Michael B. Jordan
Television YearTitleNotes 2014 Being Mary Jane 2 episodes 2016 Roots 4 episodes
Awards and nominations Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1993 Best Costume Design Malcolm X 1998 Amistad 2019 Black Panther 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 2026 Best Costume Design Sinners
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Primetime Emmy Awards 2016 Outstanding Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Movie Roots
Miscellaneous awards + Award Year Category Title Result Ref. American Black Film Festival 2002 Career Achievement Award "Actor Mekhi Pfifer and Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter Honored at American Black Film Festival", Jet, July 22, 2002. Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards 2020 Best Costume Design Dolemite Is My Name Artisan Achievement Award 2023 Best Costume Design Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners Black Reel Awards 2019 Outstanding Costume Design Black Panther 2020 Dolemite Is My Name 2022 Coming 2 America 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Dolemite Is My Name 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners Costume Designers Guild Awards 2015 Excellence in Period Film Selma 2019 Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Black Panther Career Achievement Award 2020 Excellence in Period Film Dolemite Is My Name 2022 Excellence in Contemporary Film Coming 2 America 2023 Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Excellence in Period Film Sinners Critics' Choice Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Black Panther 2020 Dolemite Is My Name 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2025 Best Costume Design FashFilmFete 2023 Costume Design Career Achievement Award in Film Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Dolemite Is My Name William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 Best Costume Design Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2023 Technical Achievement Award Black Panther: Wakanda Forever NAACP Image Awards 2022 Vanguard Award 2023 Outstanding Costume Design Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners Online Film Critics Society Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Black Panther 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 Best Costume Design Sinners Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2022 Best Costume Design Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Dolemite Is My Name 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners Satellite Awards 1998 Best Costume Design Amistad 2019 Black Panther 2019 Dolemite Is My Name 2022 Coming 2 America 2024 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners Saturn Awards 2018 Best Costume Design Black Panther 2024 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2026 Sinners Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 2018 Best Costume Design Black Panther 2019 Dolemite Is My Name 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2022 Best Costume Design Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2025 Sinners
2015: Visionary Award at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon 2019: Suffolk University, Honorary Degree - Doctor of Humane Letters
Bibliography
See also List of black Academy Award winners and nominees Notes
References
Further reading
External links