Ruth Carter & Other Black Women Changing Oscar History
Ruth Carter & Other Black Women Changing Oscar History
- Ruth E. Carter is the most-nominated Black woman in Oscars history, with two wins for her Afrofuturist designs in Black Panther.
- Sinners brought historic Oscar nominations for Black women, including the first Filipina producer and several first-time acting nominees.
- Broader recognition for Black women in Hollywood reflects their growing influence behind the scenes, on screen, and in shaping culture.
Ruth E. Carter has made history—again. The famed costume designer is now the most-nominated Black woman in Oscars history across any category.
The distinction came with her recent Oscar nomination for Sinners. She’s been recognized for her work dressing the story, set in the Jim Crow–era Mississippi Delta.
Her work is more than character dressing. With every thread, seam, and detail, Ruth tells the stories of our culture.
“I was always in love with period African American stories…I really want my characters to just leap off the page and my background in theatre helped me understand that I could actually do that if I set you the period for fabric, color palette, socioeconomics and all of those things,” Ruth told HB when describing how she thrives with each project.
She previously won Oscars for Black Panther in 2018 and for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2023, becoming the first Black woman to win two Academy Awards.
From Wakanda To The Delta, Ruth E. Carter’s Vision Is Changing The Game
Her work on Black Panther earned her an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. The designs found in Black Panther and its sequel are widely known as Afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic that blends science fiction, history, and fantasy to explore the Black experience and reconnect the African diaspora with ancestral roots. To bring this vision to life, Carter combined more than 30 years of costuming experience with deep research and study.
Ruth is now a five-time nominee. The next Black woman behind her in Oscar nominations is Viola Davis.
Carter’s career stretches wide—and she’s still nowhere near finished. She worked on Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, contributed to the reboot of Roots, and even dressed Jerry Seinfeld for the original Seinfeld television pilot.
Ruth is just one of several Black women creatives receiving long-overdue recognition from the Academy.
Black Women Are Receiving Their Flowers On Hollywood’s Biggest Stage
Sinners also brought a milestone for Zinzi Coogler, who earned a Best Picture nomination as a producer. She became the first Filipina producer ever nominated and only the third Black woman to receive a Best Picture nomination in that category. Previously, only two Black women—including Oprah Winfrey for Selma—had reached that milestone.
Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination, while singer-actress Teyana Taylor landed her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in One Battle After Another. Teyana’s nomination was widely celebrated as a breakthrough moment, coming shortly after her Golden Globe win for the same role.
All of this follows an exciting 2025 awards season that reflected broader recognition for Black women in Hollywood. Zoe Saldaña took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Perez, marking her first Academy Award win.
That same year, Cynthia Erivo earned a Best Actress nomination for her leading role as Elphaba in Wicked. While she did not win, she remains one of only a few Black women ever nominated in that category.
Together, these moments tell a bigger story. We are shaping Hollywood from every angle—behind the scenes, on screen, and across culture at large. And it’s about time.
