Sinners costume designer Ruth E. Carter has made Oscars history after becoming the most-nominated Black woman across any category in the Academy Awards’ 96-year history. Carter secured her fifth Academy Award nomination on 22 January, earning a Best Costume Design nod for her work on the film, according to E! News.
Speaking exclusively to E! News, Carter said she was unaware of the milestone until filmmaker Ava DuVernay alerted her via text message. “I didn’t know,” she said. “Ava DuVernay sent me a text message. I was like, ‘Wow.’ I don’t like to put my mind too much into, ‘If I get nominated, how many is that going to be?’”
Reflecting on the moment, Carter added, “I read it, and I was like, ‘Damn, that’s historic. As much as I am telling historic stories, I’m also making my own historic story, and that’s what it felt like. I was a part of this African American history.’”
Carter’s nomination comes for her work on Sinners, which stars Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller and Delroy Lindo. A self-described history buff, Carter said her deep understanding of Black history informed her approach to the film’s costumes.
“I’ve had years and years of understanding all of the layers of our trajectory as Black people in this country,” she explained. “I plunged headfirst into James Van Der Zee and the photographers of the times, looking at people and what they wore and how they layered.”
The 65-year-old designer has previously been nominated for her work on Malcolm X (1992) and Amistad (1997), and won her first Oscar in 2019 for Black Panther. She went on to secure a second Academy Award four years later for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Reuniting with director Ryan Coogler on Sinners marked another milestone in their collaboration. Coogler is also nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at this year’s ceremony. Carter described working on the vampire period piece as a more intimate experience following the success of the Marvel films.
“It was an original screenplay,” she said, noting the film had roughly half the budget of Black Panther. “It was an original story… this one was a little bit more niche and small. We felt like a family.”
Sinners also made Academy Awards history this year, becoming the most-nominated film of all time with 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14 held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
Since the nominations were announced, Carter said she has taken time to reflect on the moment. “I just felt in total gratitude for being me at this moment,” she said, adding that she was also thankful for her ongoing collaboration with Coogler, whose films account for three of her Oscar nominations.