Best Costume Design

Gender

More than half–59%–of the 546 nominees for Best Costume Design were women.* At least one woman has been nominated each year since the distinction was first awarded in 1949. A total of 72 women have won the Oscar® in this category, compared to 46 men. Only 3% percent of all nominees for Best Costume Design were women of color, with 5 women of color winning the award. In 1983, the first woman of color was nominated and won (Bhanu Athaiya). Of the 12 nominations for a woman of color, 5 went to Ruth E. Carter. She is the most nominated Black woman in Oscars history and she has won the award twice, in 2019 and 2023.

58%

OF 546 NOMINEES WERE WOMEN

Only 2% of nominees in this category were women of color.

Race & Ethnicity

Five percent of the 546 nominees for Best Costume Design were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.* The first nomination for a person of color was in 1953 (Antoni Clave). There have been only 8 underrepresented winners, with the first in 1955 (Mitsuzô Wada) and the most recent in 2025. Twelve of the 30 underrepresented nominees were Asian, 9 were Black/African American, 5 were Hispanic/Latino, 3 were Middle Eastern/North African, and 1 was Multiracial/Multiethnic. In 2025 the first black man won in this category (Paul Tazewell).

6%

OF 546 NOMINEES WERE UNDERREPRESENTED

There have been 8 underrepresented winners in this category.