Edith Head
(1897 – 1981)
Famous American Costume Designer
Edith Head was one of the most seen motion picture credits of the 20th century. Head began as an assistant costume designer in the Hollywood of the 1920s, and she eventually became the preeminent costume designer of Hollywood's golden age, earning eight Oscars (and over 30 nominations) during a career that included work on hundreds and hundreds of movies. Head had a long professional relationship with Alfred Hitchcock, designing the costumes for most of his features: she dressed Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant for Notorious (1946), and Grace Kelly and Grant for To Catch a Thief (1955). Her other films include Beau Geste (1939), Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Sometimes a Great Notion (1971).Head's last film was the Steve Martin comedy Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, which was released after her death in 1982.
She began designing costumes for silent films and by the thirties had established herself as one of the leading designers. She worked at Paramount for forty-four years until she went to Universal Pictures on March 27, 1967.
During her long career she was nominated for thirty-four Academy Awards and won eight times, more Oscars than any other woman has won. She was responsible for some of the best known Hollywood fashion images of her day, with her costumes being worn by the most glamorous and famous actresses of the day in films seen by millions. Head's influence on world fashion was far reaching, especially in the 1950s when she began appearing on Art Linkletter's television program and writing books on fashion. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6504 Hollywood Blvd.