Costume deisgner Ruth E. Carter is set to make history when she receives her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is only the second costume designer to receive such an honor, after Edith Head, and is the first Black costume designer among the walkway of illustrious stars.
The virtual ceremony will take place Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m. PST and will feature Oprah Winfrey and Eddie Murphy as guest speakers. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rana Ghadban will emcee the event.
Carter started her career in her Massachusetts hometown of Springfield as an intern before working with the Santa Fe Opera. In 1986, she moved from Santa Fe to Los Angeles where she worked at the Los Angeles Theater Center until Spike Lee noticed her talent. She costumed Lee’s School Daze, beginning a collaborative relationship in which she worked on several of his biggest hits, including Do The Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X and others. She also costumed Coming 2 America and has worked on the sequel, coming to Amazon Prime March 5. Her career with Murphy also includes working on his Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name, which garnered her the 2020 Critics Choice Award.
She’s currently best known by younger film audiences for her work on Marvel’s smash hit, Black Panther, which earned her the Oscar for costuming. She is the first Black person to win the Oscar in that category. Black Panther and the aforementioned films are just a drop in the bucket of all the films she’s worked on in her over 30 years in the business.
