Birthday:
04-10-1960
(64 years)
Birthplace:
Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
Biography
Ruth E. Carter (born April 10, 1960) is an American costume designer for film and television, with over 40 films to her credit. During her 30-year-plus film career, Carter has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, for her work on Spike Lee's biographical film Malcolm X (1992), Steven Spielberg's historical drama film Amistad (1997), and her most recent work on Ryan Coogler's Marvel superhero films Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For her work on Black Panther, she won the award and became the first African-American to win an Academy Award in that category. She made further history by winning the same award for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which makes her the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars in any category. Carter also has a large exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art displaying more than 60 of her original garments while also showcasing her immersive process, historical research, and the attention to detail that imbues every project she brings to life.
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Their works
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Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Act like Self
event2023 star_border 6.8
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Follow the production of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as the cast and crew take on the incredible challenge of remembering T’Challa with a chapter befitting the late king. Through intimate behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, watch Shuri take on the mantel of Wakanda’s hero and face a new foe from the ocean’s depths in Namor.
Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies
Act like Self
event2008 star_border 6
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For over five decades, Edith Head's costumes helped define not only the style of Hollywood movies, but fashion itself. This documentary examines this celebrated costume designer's long and productive collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on such films as Vertigo, Rear Window and The Birds.
20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda
Act like Self
event2022 star_border 4.9
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Exploring the evolution of Black Panther from the comic emerging in the 1960s to the film the world fell in love with in 2018; director Ryan Coogler; Whoopi Goldberg interviews Chadwick Boseman's widow, Simone Ledward Boseman.
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Act like Self
event2005 star_border 5
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A short documentary about the making of Spike Lee's biopic, "Malcolm X."
Tamron Hall
Act like Self - Guest (1 ep.)
event2019 star_border 5.1
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Former news host and journalist Tamron Hall discusses all things topical and engages those she interviews in thorough meaningful and entertaining conversations.
Abstract: The Art of Design
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event2017 star_border 7.7
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Step inside the minds of the most innovative designers in a variety of disciplines and learn how design impacts every aspect of life.
To Tell the Truth
Act like Self - Costume Designer for Black Panther (1 ep.)
event2016 star_border 6
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A modern reimagination of the classic game show. In each round, a celebrity panel will be presented with three people who all claim to be the same person with the same incredible talent, job or achievement. One is sworn to tell the truth while the others are not.
The Oscars
Act like Self (2 ep.)
event1953 star_border 7
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An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us'
Act like Self (3 ep.)
event2018 star_border 6.3
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A unique portrait of how art and activism for black people in film are indivisible from race and cinema.
Jungle Fever
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1991 star_border 6.4
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A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
Do the Right Thing
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1989 star_border 7.8
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Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.
Meet Dave
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2008 star_border 5.3
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A crew of miniature aliens operate a spaceship that has a human form. While trying to save their planet, the aliens encounter a new problem, as their ship becomes smitten with an Earth woman.
Above Suspicion
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2019 star_border 5.9
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The chilling true story of a newly married FBI poster boy assigned to an Appalachian mountain town in Kentucky. There he is drawn into an illicit affair with an impoverished local woman who becomes his star informant. She sees in him her means of escape; instead, it's a ticket to disaster for both of them.
I Spy
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2002 star_border 5.4
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When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States' top spies, Alex Scott, is called to action. What he doesn't expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson, on a dangerous top secret espionage mission. Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars, one of the world's most successful arms dealers.
Sparkle
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2012 star_border 6.2
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Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1998 star_border 5.8
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Through good times and bad, Stella and Delilah have always had each other. Now, Stella's so busy building a life that she's forgotten how to really live. But Delilah is about to change all that. What starts as a quick trip to Jamaica, ends as an exhilarating voyage of self discovery as Stella learns to open her heart and find love – even if it's with a man 20 years her junior.
Spread
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2009 star_border 5.5
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A gigolo must contend with the prospect that he has found true love.
The Butler
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2013 star_border 7.3
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A look at the life of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.
Selma
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2014 star_border 7.4
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"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
Serenity
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2005 star_border 7.4
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When the renegade crew of Serenity agrees to hide a fugitive on their ship, they find themselves in an action-packed battle between the relentless military might of a totalitarian regime who will destroy anything – or anyone – to get the girl back and the bloodthirsty creatures who roam the uncharted areas of space. But... the greatest danger of all may be on their ship.
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2015 star_border 5
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Dr. Hess Green becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status.
Black Dynamite
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2009 star_border 7.1
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This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House.
Baby Boy
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2001 star_border 7.1
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The story of Jody, a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really just a baby boy finally forced-kicking and screaming to face the commitments of real life. Streetwise and jobless, he has not only fathered two children by two different women-Yvette and Peanut but still lives with his own mother. He can't seem to strike a balance or find direction in his chaotic life.
Imagine That
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2009 star_border 6
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A financial executive who can't stop his career downspiral is invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await.
Against the Ropes
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2004 star_border 5
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A fictional story inspired by North America's most famous female boxing promoter, Jackie Kallen. Her struggle to survive and succeed in a male dominated sport.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2022 star_border 7.1
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Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
Summer of Sam
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1999 star_border 6.5
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During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders.
Malcolm X
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1992 star_border 7.5
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A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Love & Basketball
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2000 star_border 7.4
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Monica Wright and Quincy McCall grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball.
Amistad
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1997 star_border 7
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In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.
Money Train
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1995 star_border 5.8
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When a vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares, his foster brother—a fellow cop—tries to protect him.
Abduction
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event2011 star_border 5.9
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For many years, Nathan Harper has had the uneasy feeling that life with his family isn't quite what it seems. As he draws closer to uncovering the truth, he is hunted by assassins, forcing him to flee with his neighbor, Karen, the only person he can trust.
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event2009 star_border 6.8
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When her mother falls for a wealthy man, Lina Cruz must move in with her new stepfather and transfer from an urban East Los Angeles public high school to an exclusive prep school in Malibu, where she struggles to fit in with her affluent new peers. After snooty cheerleading captain Avery blocks Lina from varsity, Lina recruits her best friends from her old school to help her whip the pathetic junior varsity cheerleading squad -- the Sea Lions -- into fighting shape.
B.A.P.S
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1997 star_border 5.3
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Two clueless homegirls move to L.A. to become dancers, but instead find themselves scamming a dying millionaire to eventually become B*A*P*S (Black American Princesses).
Black Panther
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2018 star_border 7.4
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King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Four Brothers
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2005 star_border 6.8
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Four adopted brothers return to their Detroit hometown when their mother is murdered and vow to exact revenge on the killers.
Marshall
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2017 star_border 7.2
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Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Chi-Raq
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2015 star_border 5.8
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A modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago.
Oldboy
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2013 star_border 5.9
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A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2016 star_border 6.1
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An ordinary suburban couple finds it’s not easy keeping up with the Joneses – their impossibly gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated new neighbors – especially when they discover that Mr. and Mrs. “Jones” are covert operatives.
Dr. Dolittle 2
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2001 star_border 5.3
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A group of beavers ask Dr. Dolittle to save their habitat from loggers. The only hope is to get the forest preserved because it's the home of a protected bear, but there's a problem: the bear's the only bear in the forest, so she can't reproduce. Undaunted, Dolittle persuades a circus bear to help out, but he has to teach him not just the ways of the wild, but the wiles of lady bears too.
Daddy Day Care
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2003 star_border 5.9
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Two men get laid off and have to become stay-at-home dads when they can't find jobs, which inspires them to open their own day-care center.
The Five Heartbeats
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1991 star_border 7.4
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In the early 1960s, a quintet of hopeful, young African-American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro, and rises to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry.
The Great White Hype
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1996 star_border 5.2
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When the champ's promoter, Rev. Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Rev. Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training while the confident champ takes it easy and falls out of shape.
Rosewood
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1997 star_border 6.5
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Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.
Teen Beach Movie
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2013 star_border 6.9
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Life's a beach for surfers Brady and McKenzie – until a rogue wave magically transports them inside the classic '60s beach party flick, "Wet Side Story," where a full-blown rivalry between bikers and surfers threatens to erupt. There, amidst a sea of surfing, singing and dancing, Brady and Mack accidentally change the storyline, and the film’s dreamy hero and heroine fall for them instead of for each other!
Clockers
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1995 star_border 6.7
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Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.
Kidnap
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event2017 star_border 6.2
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A mother (in her Minivan) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1988 star_border 6.4
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Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.
Crooklyn
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1994 star_border 6.8
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From Spike Lee comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school-teacher, her stubborn jazz-musician husband and their five kids living in '70s Brooklyn.
The Meteor Man
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1993 star_border 5.8
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One night Jefferson Reed gets hit in the chest by a souped-up chunk of meteor. So he can fly, but he's scared of heights. He can master the information in any book ... for about thirty seconds. Now his friends and family want him to protect their community from the dreaded Golden Lords.
Blade
Costume Design (3 ep.)
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An upcoming film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) sixth Phase and part of The Multiverse Saga, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Plot TBA.
Cobb
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event1994 star_border 6
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Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words.
School Daze
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event1988 star_border 5.8
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Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
Bamboozled
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2000 star_border 6.2
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Frustrated when network brass reject his sitcom idea, producer Pierre Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of in an attempt to get fired: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
Dolemite Is My Name
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event2019 star_border 7
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The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.
Shaft
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2000 star_border 6
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New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Surviving the Game
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1994 star_border 6.1
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A homeless man is hired as a survival guide for a group of wealthy businessmen on a hunting trip in the mountains, unaware that they are killers who hunt humans for sport, and that he is their new prey.
The Best of Me
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2014 star_border 7.5
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A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event1990 star_border 10
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A 1990 PBS documentary around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed as part of the documentary include The Mint Juleps, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rockapella and The Persuasions. It also stars Spike Lee, Debbie Allen and a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson.
Mo' Better Blues
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1990 star_border 6.5
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Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
What's Love Got to Do with It
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event1993 star_border 7.1
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Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.
Coming 2 America
Costume Design (3 ep.)
event2021 star_border 6.4
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Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his royal father's dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America once again.
Sinners
Costume Design (3 ep.)
new_releases Release: April 16, 2025
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
House Party 2
Costume Designer (3 ep.)
event1991 star_border 5.3
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Kid'N'Play leave their neighborhood and enter the world of adulthood and higher education. Play attempts to get rich quick in the music business while Kid faces the challenges of college.
Seinfeld
Costume Design (1 ep.)
event1989 star_border 8.3
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A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.
Cosmos
Costume Designer (7 ep.)
event2014 star_border 8.5
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Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.
Roots
Costume Design (4 ep.)
event2016 star_border 6.9
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An adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots", chronicling the history of an African slave, Kunta Kinte sold to America and his descendants.
Thief
Costume Design (5 ep.)
event2006 star_border 7.1
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Nick Atwater, the leader of a robbery crew, is balancing his personal life with the planning of a major heist while being targeted by a relentless cop and the Chinese mafia.
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