Costume Connoisseur Ruth E. Carter is rewriting history once again, this time, at the Academy Awards.
The celebrated costume designer secured her fifth Oscar nomination this morning, being recognized for Best Costume Design for her work on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. With this latest honor, Carter becomes the most-nominated Black woman in Oscars history, across all categories.
Carter finds herself in good company in the costume design race, going up against Deborah L. Scott (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Kate Hawley (Frankenstein), Malgosia Turzanska (Hamnet), and Miyako Belizzi (Marty Supreme).
Carter previously shared the record for most Oscar nominations by a Black woman with Viola Davis, who also had four. Now, she stands alone at five, tied with Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman for the third-most nominations among Black artists overall, behind only Quincy Jones (seven) and Denzel Washington (nine).
Carter’s milestone comes amid a huge day for Sinners, which broke records with 16 nominations — the most ever received by a single film. Their nods also include acting nominations for Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, and Wunmi Mosaku.
The film has also brought other historic moments, including Coogler becoming just the second Black filmmaker to be nominated in the same year for producing, directing, and original screenplay. This comes following Jordan Peele’s triple nod for Get Out in 2017. He is also now the seventh Black director to be recognized in the Best Director category.
Producer Zinzi Coogler also made history, becoming the first Filipina producer and the third Black woman nominated for Best Picture. Together, she and Ryan Coogler are the first Black married couple ever nominated in that category.
While this honor is something to be proud of, being a trailblazer is nothing new for Carter. In 2019, she became the first Black person to win an Oscar for costume design for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther, and she repeated that feat for its sequel, Wakanda Forever, in 2022. She remains the only Black woman to have won more than once in the category.
Since the Oscars began in 1929, more than 3,100 statuettes have been handed out — yet only 20 have gone to Black women. Final voting for this year’s ceremony runs from Feb. 26 through Mar. 5.
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15, airing on ABC with Conan O’Brien set to host.
