Editing Edith Head

{{short description|American costume designer (1897–1981)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Edith Head
| birth_name = Edith Claire Posener<ref name="cs"/>
| image        = Edith Head, 1976.jpg
| caption      = Edith Head in 1976
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1897|10|28}}
| birth_place  = {{nowrap|[[San Bernardino, California]],<ref>{{cite book|author1=Anne Commire|author2=Deborah Klezmer|title=Women in World History: Harr-I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDsOAQAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Yorkin Publications|isbn=978-0-7876-4066-8}}</ref> U.S.}}
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1981|10|24|1897|10|28}}
| death_place  = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = [[Costume Designer]]
| known_for = Costume Designer at [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Universal Pictures]]
| resting_place = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]], [[Glendale, California]]
| alma_mater = [[University of California, Berkeley]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]], 1919)</small><br />[[Stanford University]] <small>([[Master of Arts|M.A.]], 1920)</small>
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Charles Head<br>|1923|1938|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Wiard Ihnen]]<br>|1940|1979|end=d.}}
}}
| years_active = 1924–1981
| awards = [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design]] x 8
}}
[[File:Color photograph of Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as Samson and Delilah.jpg|thumb|260px|{{center|Edith Head's costume designs for [[Victor Mature]] and [[Hedy Lamarr]] in ''[[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (1949), for which she won an [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Oscar]]}}]]
[[File:Grace Kelly Promotional Photograph Rear Window.jpg|thumb|260px|{{center|Design for [[Grace Kelly]] in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Rear Window]]'' (1954).}}]] 
'''Edith Claire Head''' (née '''Posener''',<ref name="cs">{{cite web|url=https://costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/edith-head|title=Edith Head}}</ref> October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film [[costume designer]] who won a record eight [[Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Duka|first=John|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/27/obituaries/edith-head-fashion-designer-for-the-movies-dies.html|title=Edith Head, Fashion Designer for the Movies, Dies|date=1981-10-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-10|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential costume designers in film history.

Born and raised in California, Head started her career as a Spanish teacher, but was interested in design.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://npg.si.edu/blog/designing-woman-edith-head-hollywood|title=Designing Woman: Edith Head in Hollywood|last=BloomB|date=2010-07-06|website=npg.si.edu|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref> After studying at the [[Chouinard Art Institute]] in Los Angeles,<ref name=":1" /> Head was hired as a costume sketch artist at [[Paramount Pictures]] in 1923.<ref name=":0" /> She won acclaim for her design of [[Dorothy Lamour]]’s trademark [[sarong]] in the 1936 film ''[[The Jungle Princess]]'',<ref name=":0" /> and became a household name after the Academy Award for Best Costume Design was created in 1948. Head was considered exceptional for her close working relationships with her subjects, with whom she consulted extensively; these included virtually every top female star in Hollywood.

Head worked at Paramount for 44 years. In 1967, the company declined to renew her contract, and she was invited by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] to join [[Universal Pictures]]. There she earned her eighth and final Academy Award for her work on ''[[The Sting]]'' in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/arts-theatre-shutters-edith-head-will-now-play-the-leicester-square-theatre-com-151949|title=Arts Theatre Shutters; Edith Head Will Now Play the Leicester Square Theatre|last=Shenton|first=Mark|date=July 25, 2008|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
She was born '''Edith Claire Posener''' in [[San Bernardino, California]], the daughter of [[Jewish]] parents, Max Posener and Anna E. Levy. Her father, born in January 1858, was a naturalized American citizen from Germany,{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} who came to the United States in 1876. Her mother was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1875, the daughter of an Austrian father and a Bavarian mother.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} Max and Anna married in 1895, according to the 1900 United States Federal Census records. Just before Edith's birth, Max Posener opened a small [[haberdasher]]y in San Bernardino, which failed within a year.

The marriage did not survive. In 1905, Anna remarried, this time to mining engineer Frank Spare, originally from [[Pennsylvania]]. The family moved frequently as Spare's jobs moved.  The only place Head could later recall living during her early years was [[Searchlight, Nevada]]. Frank and Anna Spare passed Edith off as their child. As Frank Spare was a Catholic, Edith ostensibly became one as well.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chierichetti|first=David|title=Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer|url=https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York|isbn=0-06-019428-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi/page/2 2]–3}}</ref>

In 1919, Edith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in letters and sciences with honors in French from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and in 1920 earned a Master of Arts degree in romance languages from [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Chierichetti|first=David|title=Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer|url=https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York|isbn=0-06-019428-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi/page/6 6]}}</ref>

She became a language teacher with her first position as a replacement at [[The Bishop's School]] in [[La Jolla]] teaching French. After one year, she took a position teaching Spanish at the [[Hollywood School for Girls]]. Wanting a slightly higher salary, she told the school that she could also teach art, even though she had only briefly studied the discipline in high school.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chierichetti|first=David|title=Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer|url=https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York|isbn=0-06-019428-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edithhead00davi/page/7 7]–8}}</ref> To improve her drawing skills, at this point rudimentary, she took evening classes at the [[Otis College of Art and Design|Otis Art Institute]] and [[Chouinard Art Institute|Chouinard Art College]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Costume design in the movies : an illustrated guide to the work of 157 great designers|author=Leese, Elizabeth|date=1991|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=048626548X|location=New York|oclc=23386758}}</ref>

On July 25, 1923, she married Charles Head, the brother of one of her Chouinard classmates, Betty Head. Although the marriage ended in divorce in 1938 after a number of years of separation, she continued to be known professionally as Edith Head until her death. In 1940 she married award-winning art director [[Wiard Ihnen]], a marriage which lasted until his death in 1979.

==The Paramount years==
[[File:Edith Head ca 1955.jpg|thumb|left|Head in 1955.|150px]]
In 1924, despite lacking art, design, and costume design experience, the 26-year-old Head was hired as a costume sketch artist at [[Paramount Pictures]]. Later she admitted to "borrowing" other students' sketches for her job interview. She began designing costumes for silent films, commencing with [[The Wanderer (1925 film)|''The Wanderer'']] in 1925 and, by the 1930s, had established herself as one of Hollywood's leading [[costume designer]]s. She worked at Paramount for 43 years until she went to [[Universal Pictures]] on March 27, 1967, possibly prompted by her extensive work for director [[Alfred Hitchcock]], who had moved to Universal in 1960.

Head's marriage to set designer [[Wiard Ihnen]], on September 8, 1940, lasted until his death from prostate cancer in 1979. Over the course of her long career, she was nominated for 35 [[Academy Awards]], annually from 1949 (the first year that the [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Oscar for Best Costume Design]] was awarded) through 1966, and won eight times – receiving more Oscars than any other woman.<ref>[[Sara Fishko|Fishko, Sara]]. [http://www.wnyc.org/story/115586-edith-head/ Edith Head]. February 25, 2011.</ref>

Although Head was featured in studio publicity from the mid-1920s, she was originally overshadowed by Paramount's lead designers, first [[Howard Greer]], then [[Travis Banton]]. Head was instrumental in conspiring against Banton, and after his resignation in 1938 she became a high-profile designer in her own right. Her association with the "[[sarong]]" dress designed for [[Dorothy Lamour]] in ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937) made her well known among the general public, although Head was a more restrained designer than either Banton or [[Adrian (costume designer)|Adrian]]. She gained public attention for the top mink-lined gown she created for [[Ginger Rogers]] in ''[[Lady in the Dark (film)|Lady in the Dark]]'' (1944), which caused much comment owing to the mood of wartime austerity. The establishment, in 1949, of the Academy Award for Costume Design further boosted her career, giving her a record-breaking run of Award nominations and wins, beginning with her nomination for ''[[The Emperor Waltz]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1949|title=The 21st Academy Awards - 1949|date=March 24, 2015 }}</ref> Head and other film designers like Adrian became well known to the public.<ref name="meltzer20130919">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/fashion/costume-designers-for-tv-have-a-big-impact-on-fashion.html |title=Get Me Wardrobe! |last=Meltzer |first=Marisa |date=2013-09-19 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=E1}}</ref>

Head was known for her unique working style and, unlike many of her male contemporaries, usually consulted extensively with the female stars with whom she worked. As a result, she was a favorite among many of the leading female stars of the 1940s and 1950s, such as [[Ginger Rogers]], [[Bette Davis]], [[Barbara Stanwyck]], [[Jane Wyman]], [[Rita Hayworth]], [[Shirley MacLaine]], [[Grace Kelly]], [[Audrey Hepburn]], and [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. In fact, Head was frequently "loaned out" by [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] to other studios at the request of their female stars. She herself always dressed very plainly, preferring thick-framed glasses and conservative two-piece suits.<ref name="Jorgensen">{{cite book | last1 = Jorgensen | first1 = Jay | title = Edith Head: The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer | publisher = Running Press | year = 2010 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gyjob_gq3yoC | access-date = October 28, 2013 | isbn = 9780762441730}}</ref>

In 1946, Head worked for the first time with director Alfred Hitchcock. They worked together on his spy film ''Notorious.'' Head, who worked for Paramount, was loaned to Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) pictures to work with Hitchcock on this film. In this time period it was more often found that costume designers would design to reflect their own style. Head had a different outlook on this. She felt that it was more important to design pieces that reflected the character. During their time working on this movie, Head and Hitchcock found that they were like-minded and had the same bluntness in their careers and attitudes. The costumes she designed for this film reflected restraint and the need to blend in. This style suited what Hitchcock was looking for since he did not want the clothes to be the focal point. The two would go on to work together many more times.<ref>{{Cite journal |last= |first= |date=Summer 2021 |title=Clothes Make the Character: Costume Collaborations of Edith Head and Alfred Hitchcock |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/797668 |journal=The Missouri Review |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=17–29 |doi=10.1353/mis.2021.0020 |s2cid=243131125 |via=Project MUSE|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

On February 3, 1955 (Season 5 Episode 21), Edith Head appeared as a contestant on the [[Groucho Marx]] quiz show ''[[You Bet Your Life]]''. She and her partner won a total of $1,540.  Her winnings were donated to charity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idnuo3MhqvY&index=16&list=PLHaioNpr_GDbvsTj_taM-jO6C1658N1PC |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/Idnuo3MhqvY| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=You Bet Your Life #54-21 Edith Head, Hollywood costume designer ('Foot', Feb 3, 1955)|last=Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life|date=October 22, 2013|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Head also authored two books describing her career and design philosophy, ''The Dress Doctor'' (1959) and ''How To Dress For Success'' (1967). These books were re-edited in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

==The Universal years==
In 1967, at the age of 70, she left [[Paramount Pictures]] and joined [[Universal Pictures]], where she remained until her death in 1981.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sauro |first1=Clare |title=Edith Head in Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion Volume 2 |date=2005 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=Detroit, MI |isbn=0684313944 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00vale/page/191 191]–192 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00vale |url-access=registration }}</ref> By this point, Hollywood was rapidly changing from what it had been during Head's heyday in the 1930s-1940s. Studio-based production was giving way to outdoors and on-scene shooting, and many of the actresses from that era whom she worked with and knew intimately had retired or were working less. She thus turned more of her attention to TV, where some old friends such as [[Olivia de Havilland]] had begun working. She designed Endora's clothing on ''[[Bewitched]]'', and made a cameo appearance in 1973 on the detective series ''[[Columbo]]'' beside [[Anne Baxter]], playing herself and displaying her Oscars to date. In 1974, Head received a final Oscar win for her work on ''[[The Sting]]''.

In the late 1970s Edith Head was asked to design a woman's [[uniform]] for the [[United States Coast Guard]], because of the increasing number of women in the Coast Guard. Head called the assignment a highlight in her career and received the [[Coast Guard Public Service Awards|Meritorious Public Service Award]] for her efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/02/2001772357/-1/-1/0/WOMENFINDFAVORWCOASTGUARDFASHION.PDF |title=Women Find Favor With Coast Guard Fashion |first=Olivia |last=Smith |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office|access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> Her designs for a TV mini-series based on the novel ''[[Little Women]]'' were well received. Her last film project was the black-and-white comedy ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'' (1982), starring [[Steve Martin]] and [[Carl Reiner]], a job Head was chosen for because of her expertise on 1940s fashions. She modeled Martin and Reiner's outfits on classic [[film noir]] and the movie, released in theaters just after her death, was dedicated to her memory.

==Death==
Head died on October 24, 1981, four days before her 84th birthday, from [[myelofibrosis]], an incurable [[bone marrow]] disease.<ref name="Jorgensen" /> She is interred at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in [[Glendale, California]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ|title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory|last=Ellenberger|first=Allan R.|date=2001-05-01|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786450190|language=en}}</ref>

==Hollywood Walk of Fame==
Edith Head's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], which she received in 1974, is located at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/edith-head |title=Edith Head |work=Hollywood Walk of Fame |access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref>

==Actors and actresses designed for==
Among the actresses Edith Head designed for were:

*[[Mae West]] in ''[[She Done Him Wrong]]'', 1933; ''[[Myra Breckinridge (film)|Myra Breckinridge]]'', 1970; and ''[[Sextette]]'', 1978
*[[Frances Farmer]] in ''[[Rhythm on the Range]]'', 1936; and ''[[Ebb Tide (1937 film)|Ebb Tide]]'', 1937
*[[Dorothy Lamour]] in ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'', 1937; in most of the ''[[Road to...]]'' movies; and ''[[Donovan's Reef]]'', 1963
*[[Paulette Goddard]] in ''[[The Cat and the Canary (1939 film)|The Cat and the Canary]]'', 1939
*[[Veronica Lake]] in ''[[Sullivan's Travels]]'', 1941; ''[[I Married a Witch]]'', 1942
*[[Barbara Stanwyck]] in ''[[The Lady Eve]]'' and ''[[Ball of Fire]]'', both 1941; “[[Flesh and Fantasy]]”, 1943; ''[[Double Indemnity]]'', 1944; ''[[Christmas in Connecticut]]'', 1945; ''[[My Reputation]]'', 1946; and ''[[The Two Mrs. Carrolls]]'', 1947
*[[Marjorie Reynolds]] in ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'', 1942
*[[Ginger Rogers]] in ''[[Lady in the Dark (film)|Lady in the Dark]]'', 1944
*[[Clara Bow]] in ''[[Wings (1927 film)|Wings]]'', 1927 (uncredited)
*[[Ruth Hussey]] and [[Gail Russell]] in ''[[The Uninvited (1944 film)|The Uninvited]]'', 1944
*[[Betty Hutton]]  in ''[[Incendiary Blonde]]'', 1945; and ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1947 film)|The Perils of Pauline]]'', 1947
*[[Jane Wyman]] in ''[[The Lost Weekend]]'', 1945; ''[[Here Comes the Groom (1951 film)|Here Comes the Groom]]'', 1951;  ''[[Just for You (1952 film)|Just for You]]'' 1952; and ''[[Lucy Gallant]]'', 1955
*[[Ingrid Bergman]] in ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]'', 1946
*[[Loretta Young]] in ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (1947 film)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'', 1947
*[[Bette Davis]] in ''[[June Bride]]'', 1948; and ''[[All About Eve]]'', 1950
*[[Olivia de Havilland]] in ''[[The Heiress]]'', 1949
*[[Hedy Lamarr]] and [[Angela Lansbury]] in ''[[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'', 1949
*[[Gloria Swanson]] in ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'', 1950
*[[Elizabeth Taylor]] in ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'', 1951; ''[[Elephant Walk]]'', 1954; and ''[[Ash Wednesday (1973 film)|Ash Wednesday]]'', 1973
*[[Joan Fontaine]] in ''[[Something to Live For (film)|Something to Live For]]'', 1952
*[[Carmen Miranda]] in ''[[Scared Stiff (1953 film)|Scared Stiff]]'', 1953
*[[Audrey Hepburn]] in ''[[Roman Holiday]]'', 1953; ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'', 1954; ''[[Funny Face]]'', 1957; and ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]],'' 1961
*[[Ann Robinson]] in ''[[The War of the Worlds (1953 film)|The War of the Worlds]]'', 1953
*[[Grace Kelly]] in ''[[Rear Window]]'', 1954; and ''[[To Catch a Thief]]'', 1955
*[[Rosemary Clooney]] in ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'', 1954
*[[Shirley MacLaine]] in ''[[Artists and Models]]'', 1955; ''[[The Matchmaker (1958 film)|The Matchmaker]]'', 1958; and ''[[What a Way to Go!]]'', 1964
*[[Doris Day]] in ''[[The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)|The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'', 1956; and ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]'', 1958
*[[Anne Baxter]] in ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'', 1956
*[[Marlene Dietrich]] in ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'', 1957
*[[Lauren Bacall]] in ''[[Designing Woman]]'', 1957
*[[Rita Hayworth]] in ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'', 1958
*[[Kim Novak]] in ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'', 1958
*[[Sophia Loren]] in ''[[That Kind of Woman]]'', 1959; and ''[[Heller in Pink Tights]]'', 1960
*[[Rhonda Fleming]] in ''[[Alias Jesse James]]'', 1959
*[[Natalie Wood]] in ''[[Love with the Proper Stranger]]'', 1963; ''[[Sex and the Single Girl (film)|Sex and the Single Girl]]'', 1964; ''[[Inside Daisy Clover]]'' and ''[[The Great Race]]'', both 1965; ''[[Penelope (1966 film)|Penelope]]'' and ''[[This Property Is Condemned]]'', both 1966; and ''[[The Last Married Couple in America]]'', 1980
*[[Tippi Hedren]] in ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'', 1963; and ''[[Marnie (film)|Marnie]]'', 1964
*[[Paula Prentiss]] in ''[[Man's Favorite Sport?]]'', 1964
*[[Christiane Schmidtmer]] in ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]]'', 1965
*[[Julie Andrews]] in ''[[Torn Curtain]]'', 1966
*[[Jane Fonda]] in ''[[Barefoot in the Park (film)|Barefoot in the Park]]'', 1967
*[[Joan Crawford]] in ''[[Berserk!]]'', 1968
*[[Claude Jade]] in ''[[Topaz (1969 film)|Topaz]]'', 1969
*[[Katharine Hepburn]] in [[Rooster Cogburn (film)|''Rooster Cogburn'']], 1975
*[[Jill Clayburgh]] in ''[[Gable and Lombard]]'', 1976
*[[Valerie Perrine]] in ''[[W.C. Fields and Me]]'', 1976

Among the actors Edith Head designed for were:
* [[Fred Astaire]] in ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'', 1942
*[[Danny Kaye]] in ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'', 1954
*[[Cary Grant]] in ''[[To Catch a Thief]]'', 1955
*[[Clark Gable]] in ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]'', 1958
*[[Elvis Presley]] in ''[[Blue Hawaii]]'', 1961
*[[James Stewart]] in ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'', 1958
*[[John Wayne]] in ''[[The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance]]'' and ''[[Hatari!]]'', both 1962; ''[[The Sons of Katie Elder]]'', 1965, ''[[El Dorado (1966 film)|El Dorado]]'', 1966; and ''[[Hellfighters (film)|Hellfighters]]'', 1968
*[[Rock Hudson]] in ''[[Man's Favorite Sport?]]'', 1964
*[[Steve Martin]] in ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'', 1982

==Academy Awards==
Head received eight [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Academy Awards for Best Costume Design]], more than any other person, from a total of 35 nominations.<ref name=williams2013>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Rob |date=October 28, 2013 |title=Google Doodle Celebrates Oscar Award Winning Hollywood Costume Designer Edith Head |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-doodle-celebrates-oscar-award-winning-hollywood-costume-designer-edith-head-8908127.html |website=The Independent |publisher=independent.co.uk |access-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
|[[21st Academy Awards|1948]] || [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design – Color]] ||  ''[[The Emperor Waltz]]'' || {{nom}} 
|-
|[[22nd Academy Awards|1949]] || rowspan=2|[[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design – Black & White]] || ''[[The Heiress]]'' || {{won}}
|-
|rowspan=2|[[23rd Academy Awards|1950]] 
|| ''[[All About Eve]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| [[24th Academy Awards|1951]] || rowspan=2|Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' || {{won}} 
|-
|rowspan=2|[[25th Academy Awards|1952]] || ''[[Carrie (1952 film)|Carrie]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[26th Academy Awards|1953]] || rowspan=3|Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[Roman Holiday]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| [[27th Academy Awards|1954]] || ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[28th Academy Awards|1955]] || ''[[The Rose Tattoo (film)|The Rose Tattoo]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[To Catch a Thief]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[29th Academy Awards|1956]] || Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[The Proud and Profane]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[30th Academy Awards|1957]] || rowspan=2|[[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] || ''[[Funny Face]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[31st Academy Awards|1958]] || ''[[The Buccaneer (1958 film)|The Buccaneer]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[32nd Academy Awards|1959]] || Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[Career (1959 film)|Career]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[The Five Pennies]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[33rd Academy Awards|1960]] || Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[The Facts of Life (film)|The Facts of Life]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| rowspan=2|Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[Pepe (1960 film)|Pepe]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[34th Academy Awards|1961]] || ''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[35th Academy Awards|1962]] || Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[My Geisha]]'' || {{nom}}
|- 
| rowspan=3|[[36th Academy Awards|1963]] || rowspan=2|Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[Love with the Proper Stranger]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| ''[[Wives and Lovers (film)|Wives and Lovers]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[A New Kind of Love]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[37th Academy Awards|1964]] || Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[A House Is Not a Home (film)|A House Is Not a Home]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
|  Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[What a Way to Go!]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[38th Academy Awards|1965]] || Best Costume Design – Black & White || ''[[The Slender Thread]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|Best Costume Design – Color || ''[[Inside Daisy Clover]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[39th Academy Awards|1966]] || ''[[The Oscar (film)|The Oscar]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[42nd Academy Awards|1969]] || rowspan=5|Best Costume Design || ''[[Sweet Charity (film)|Sweet Charity]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[43rd Academy Awards|1970]] || ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[46th Academy Awards|1973]] || ''[[The Sting]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| [[48th Academy Awards|1975]] || ''[[The Man Who Would Be King (film)|The Man Who Would Be King]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[50th Academy Awards|1977]] || ''[[Airport '77]]'' || {{nom}}
|-
|}

==Guest appearances==
Head made a brief appearance in ''[[Columbo season 2#Episodes|Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star]]'' (1973) acting as herself, the clothing designer for [[Anne Baxter]]'s character. Her [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] were displayed on a desk in the scene.

Again as herself, she appeared in the film ''[[Lucy Gallant]]'' (1955) as the [[emcee]] of a fashion show. She also appeared in ''[[The Pleasure of His Company]]'' (1961) as she showed dresses for [[Debbie Reynolds]]' wedding in the film, and in ''[[The Oscar (film)|The Oscar]]'' (1966) in three short, non-speaking scenes opposite [[Elke Sommer]]'s character, a sketch artist turned costume designer like Head herself. She also appeared on an episode of the game show ''You Bet Your Life''.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|author=David Chierichetti|title=Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer|location=New York|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2003|isbn=0-06-019428-6}}
*John Duka. "Edith Head, Fashion Designer for the Movies, Dies." ''The New York Times''. October 27, 1981.
*{{cite book|author=Edith Head|title=Edith Head's Hollywood|location=New York|publisher=Dutton|year=1983|isbn=0-525-24200-7|url=https://archive.org/details/edithheadshollyw00head}}
*{{cite book|author=Edith Head and [[Jane Ardmore|Jane Kesner Ardmore]]|title=The Dress Doctor|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown|year=1959|isbn=999750030X}}
*{{cite book|author=Edith Head with [[Joe Hyams]]|title=How to Dress for Success|location=New York|publisher=Random House|year=1967|lccn= 66012021}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{Find a Grave}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{FMD designer}}
* {{TCMdb name}}
* [http://purpleskiesinc.com/edith-head Edith Head] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413103713/http://purpleskiesinc.com/ |date=April 13, 2020 }} at Purple Skies
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131213194727/http://old.wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/collections/featured/edithhead/ Edith Head Papers at the] [[Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071025141533/http://claudejade.ifrance.com/portrait/68-01g.jpg image: Edith Head alongside actress Claude Jade at the Universal-Studios 1968]
* [https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/02/2001772357/-1/-1/0/WOMENFINDFAVORWCOASTGUARDFASHION.PDF U.S. Coast Guard Historian "Women Find Favor With Coast Guard Fashion"]
* [http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=66603 Edith Head papers], Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

{{Academy Award Best Costume Design}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Edith}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:American costume designers]]
[[Category:American women costume designers]]
[[Category:American fashion designers]]
[[Category:Jewish fashion designers]]
[[Category:California people in fashion]]
[[Category:Best Costume Design Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:California people in design]]
[[Category:Artists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni]]
[[Category:Otis College of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:People from Hollywood, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from San Bernardino, California]]
[[Category:People from Searchlight, Nevada]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:20th-century American women]]
[[Category:Jewish American film people]]