Edith Head
Record-holding costume designer with 35 Oscar nominations and 8 wins.
Edith Head was born Edith Claire Posener on October 28, 1897, in San Bernardino, California, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents of German and Austrian descent. Her father, a naturalized German immigrant, opened a small haberdashery that failed within a year, after which he abandoned the family and moved to El Paso, Texas. In 1901, her mother remarried Frank Spare, a mining engineer, and the couple raised Edith as their biological child, giving her his surname and raising her in the Roman Catholic faith. Because of her stepfather’s work, the family moved frequently, spending much of her childhood in rural Searchlight, Nevada. A shy only child, Head built makeshift dollhouses from cardboard boxes, created figures from desert greasewood, and even made costumes for her pets and wild horned lizards. She recalled having no other playmates, so her imagination focused on solitary activities. Classmates teased her for her missing front teeth, and she rarely smiled. She finished elementary school in Redding, California, in 1911, then lived briefly in Mexico, where she learned Spanish. She later moved with her mother to Los Angeles and graduated from Los Angeles High School.
Head earned a Bachelor of Arts in letters and sciences with honors in French from the University of California, Berkeley in 1915, followed by a Master of Arts in romance languages from Stanford University in 1920. She began teaching French and Spanish at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, then taught French at the Hollywood School for Girls, where her students included the daughters of Cecil B. DeMille. To qualify for a higher salary, she claimed she could also teach art, despite having only briefly studied it in high school. She took evening classes at Otis Art Institute and Chouinard Art College to improve her rudimentary drawing skills. On July 25, 1923, she married Charles Head, a salesman and brother of a classmate. Because of his drinking problem and her reduced summer teaching pay, she sought work as a sketch artist.
In 1923, despite little experience in art or costume design, the 26-year-old Head was hired as a costume sketch artist at Famous Players–Lasky, later Paramount Pictures. She later admitted to borrowing other students’ sketches for her interview, explaining that she studied seascapes and could only draw oceans, so she asked classmates for costume sketches. At Paramount, she studied unde
- born
- October 28, 1897, San Bernardino, California
- died
- October 24, 1981
- field
- Costume design
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Record 35 Academy Award nominations and 8 wins for Best Costume Design; most-credited costume designer in film history (432 credits)
Lore & Background
Head was raised between California and Nevada, earned degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, and began a career as a French and Spanish languages teacher. After taking courses at the Chouinard Art Institute, she was hired in 1923 as a costume sketch artist at Famous Players–Lasky, later Paramount Pictures. She won acclaim for designing Dorothy Lamour’s trademark sarong in the 1936 film The Jungle Princess 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, consulting extensively with virtually every top female star in Hollywood.
Head worked at Paramount for 44 years and was frequently loaned out to other studios. She designed costumes for several Alfred Hitchcock films, including Notorious (1946), Vertigo (1958), The Birds (1963), and Marnie (1964). In 1968, after Paramount declined to renew her contract, Hitchcock invited her to join Universal Pictures, where she earned her eighth and final Academy Award for The Sting in 1973. Outside of film, she designed the official women's uniform for the United States Coast Guard in the 1970s, receiving the Meritorious Public Service Award.
Reader's Guide
Edith Head's significance lies in her unparalleled record of Academy Award nominations and wins, as well as her status as the most-credited costume designer in film history. Her career spanned from the silent film era through the 1970s, and she worked with virtually every top female star of Hollywood's golden age. Head's collaborative approach—consulting extensively with actresses—set her apart from many male contemporaries and made her a favorite among stars. Her work on Alfred Hitchcock films and her ability to adapt to changing studio systems, including a move to Universal Pictures late in her career, demonstrate her lasting influence. Beyond film, her design of the Coast Guard women's uniform reflects her broader cultural impact. Head's legacy is that of a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field, whose technical skill and interpersonal acumen earned her a unique place in Hollywood history.
Did You Know?
- Head earned a Master of Arts degree in romance languages from Stanford University before becoming a costume designer.
- She admitted to borrowing other students' sketches for her job interview at Famous Players–Lasky.
- Head designed the official women's uniform for the United States Coast Guard in the 1970s.
- She was teased as a child because her front teeth never grew in properly, causing her to rarely smile.
More in Fashion Designers 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record