March 7, 2019
On Wednesday, April 3, Oakland University will welcome Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter to campus. Her talk will spotlight her remarkable career in Hollywood, and will take place at 7 p.m. in the Oakland Center Founders Ballrooms.
Carter is the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, claiming the 2019 award for her work on Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. She is also the first woman ever to win for a super hero film. She previously received Oscar nominations for her work on Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, as well as an Emmy nomination in 2016 for the reboot of Roots. She has worked on more African-American historic films and TV series than any other costume designer in the film and television industry.
Carter has worked in the industry for over three decades and has more than 40 film credits in her career. She has collaborated with Spike Lee on 14 films, including School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and Old Boy.
Carter is known for her research and diligence to the craft, specifically for outstanding work for period ensemble films like Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Ava Duvernay’s Selma. She recently completed work on Yellowstone, a Paramount television series starring Kevin Costner and directed by Taylor Sheridan.