Ruth E. Carter made history: The costume designer behind the âBlack Pantherâ films became the first Black woman to win two Oscars.
Carter took home best costume design Sunday night at the 95th Academy Awards for the Marvel sequel âBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.â Carter also won in 2018 for âBlack Panther,â which made her the first African American to win in the category.
In her acceptance speech, Carter thanked the filmâs director Ryan Coogler and asked if âBlack Pantherâ star Chadwick Boseman could look after her mother, Mabel Carter, who she said died âthis past week.â Boseman died in 2020 of cancer at 43.
âThis is for my mother. She was 101,â Carter said. âThis film prepared me for this moment. Chadwick, please take care of mom.â
Carter then paid tribute to her mother backstage.
âI had a great relationship with her in her final years. The same relationship I always had with her. I was her ride-or-die. I was her road dog. I was her sidekick,â she said. âI know sheâs proud of me. I know that she wanted this for me as much as I wanted it for myself.â
âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ grappled with the grief of losing Boseman, its superhero.
In her career, Carter has been behind-the-scenes in some of Hollywoodâs biggest films. Sheâs received Oscar nominations for her work in Spike Leeâs âMalcolm Xâ and Steven Spielbergâs âAmistadâ and received praise for her period ensembles in other projects such as Lee Danielsâ âThe Butler,â Ava DuVernayâs âSelmaâ and the reboot of âROOTS.â Sheâs created costumes for Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and even Jerry Seinfeld for the âSeinfeldâ pilot.
Carter played an influential role as lead costume designer in making âBlack Pantherâ a cultural phenomenon as she infused the pride of African diaspora into the characterâs stylish and colorful garments to help bring Wakanda to life. She wanted to transform the presence of Queen Ramonda â played by Oscar nominee Angela Bassett â as a queen in the first film to being a ruler in the sequel.
âAngela always wanted to play a queen, so to amplify her, we added vibranium ⊠we gave her the royal color of purple, and adorned her in gold as she wore the crown at the UN,â Carter said. âWhen she sits on the throne, sheâs in a gray one shouldered dress. The exposed shoulder shows her strength â Angela, she got those guns, right?â
Carter said she was able to pull off the win against a âtough lineup.â She was up against designers from âElvis,â âMrs. Harris Goes to Paris,â âEverything Everywhere All at Once,â and âBabylon.â
She got her start in 1988 on Leeâs âSchool Daze,â the directorâs second film. Theyâve since collaborated on more than 10 films, including âDo the Right Thingâ and âJungle Fever.â Sheâs also worked with Robert Townsend on âThe Five Heartbeatsâ and Keenen Ivory Wayans on âIâm Gonna Git You Sucka.â
âI pulled myself up from my bootstraps,â Carter said. âI started in a single parent household. I wanted to be a costume designer. I studied. I scraped. I struggled with adversity in an industry that sometimes didnât look like me. And I endured.â
Through the Oscar-nominated âMalcolm X,â she reached new heights. That film, starring Denzel Washington, propelled her into the âHollywood makeup,â offering her more opportunities to work with directors who had different points-of-views and scripts.
Carterâs wish is that her historic win Sunday will offer more opportunities to women of color.
âI hope this opens the door for others ⊠that they can win an Oscar, too,â Carter said.