The Legendary Costume Designer Earned Her Fifth Academy Award Nomination for “Sinners”
The legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter is once again making history.
Carter earned her fifth Academy Award nomination for her work on Sinners, officially becoming the most-nominated Black woman in Oscars history across all categories. The milestone breaks a tie she previously shared with Viola Davis and places Carter among the most-nominated Black creatives the Academy has ever recognized. Her latest nomination is both a personal achievement and a broader reminder of how long overdue sustained recognition for Black women in Hollywood has been.
With this nomination, Carter now joins Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman as the third most-nominated Black creatives in Academy Awards history, trailing only Denzel Washington, who has nine nominations, and Quincy Jones, who has seven. The company is elite, but Carter’s path to this moment has been carved through decades of shaping how Black stories are visually told on screen.
Carter’s Oscar nominations span more than 30 years and include films that have become cultural landmarks: Malcolm X, Amistad, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and now Sinners. Beyond those titles, her body of work includes Roots, Coming to America, Selma, Crooklyn, School Daze, and BAPS, reinforcing her reputation as a designer who doesn’t simply dress characters but builds entire worlds through fabric, texture, and historical precision.
Her legacy is already cemented. In 2019, Carter became the first Black person to win an Oscar for Costume Design for Black Panther. She made history again in 2022 with a second win for Wakanda Forever, becoming the first—and still only—Black woman to win multiple Oscars in the category. With Sinners, she extends that record once more, proving that her influence continues to evolve rather than rest on past achievements.
Carter’s nomination also comes as Sinners enjoys a historic showing at the 2026 Academy Awards. The film earned a record-breaking 16 nominations, including acting nods for Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, and Wunmi Mosaku, along with recognition for Best Picture, cinematography, and more. Director Ryan Coogler also made history, becoming only the second Black filmmaker—after Jordan Peele—to earn nominations in the same year for producing, directing, and original screenplay.
Despite the celebratory tone, the broader context remains sobering. Since the Oscars began in 1929, more than 3,100 statuettes have been awarded, yet only about 20 have gone to Black women—roughly 0.6 percent of all winners. Against that backdrop, Ruth E. Carter’s fifth nomination is not just a personal milestone but a statement about excellence, persistence, and the impact of Black women whose work has long shaped Hollywood without equal recognition.
The 2026 Academy Awards will air live on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu. No matter how the night ends, Carter’s artistry will already be part of Oscar history.
