Ruth E. Carter Inspiring Woman

Ruth E. Carter Sweetrocks Inspiring Women

Ruth E. Carter is an American costume designer for film and television, with over 40 films to her credit, who has mastered the look of multiple periods and genres in envisioning the clothing and overall appearance of a character or performer. During her nearly-30-year film career, Carter has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, for her work on Spike Lee’s biographical film Malcolm X (1992), Steven Spielberg’s historical drama film Amistad (1997), and her most recent work on Ryan Coogler’s Marvel superhero film Black Panther (2018), for which she won the award and became the first African-American to win an Academy Award in that category.

Carter graduated from Hampton University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Ruth began her career working as an intern in her hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts and at the Santa Fe Opera. She moved to Los Angeles in 1986. While working at the Los Angeles Theater Center, Carter met director Spike Lee, who hired her for his second film, School Daze (1988), and with whom she worked on a number of films thereafter, including Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), and Malcolm X (1992). Carter has continued to work on films for Spike Lee, including Oldboy (2013), Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), and Chi-Raq (2015).

In addition to designing costumes for the films of Spike Lee, Carter has worked with legendary directors such as Steven Spielberg and John Singleton, and has dressed actors from Denzel Washington to Josh Brolin, and actresses from Angela Bassett to Jane Fonda.

Carter is also known for her work on What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993), Serenity (2005), Four Brothers (2005), Sparkle (2012), The Butler (2013) directed by Lee Daniels, and Selma (2014) directed by Ava DuVernay. Dolemite is My Name (2019) and Coming 2 America (2020) directed by Craig Brewer. Carter also designed costumes for the American television drama series Being Mary Jane (2013-2019) and Roots (2016).

Carter’s most notable work was on the Afrofuturist superhero Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther (2018), directed by Ryan Coogler. 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.

In 2021, Carter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the film category.

photo credit: AfriQueen Media

Thank you Ruth Carter (#RuthCarter) for being an Inspiring Woman!