Jenny Beavan, OBE (born 1950) is an English costume designer. She has been nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 194 ...

eleven times, winning three awards for the movies ''A Room With A View'' (1985) (for which she shared an award with

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn Laws ...

), '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' (2015), and '' Cruella '' (2021). She has also been nominated nine times for a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, winning four awards for ''A Room With A View'', ''

Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. It was influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic ''La Règle du jeu'' (''The Rules of the Game''). The film stars an ...

'' (2001), ''Mad Max: Fury Road'', and ''Cruella''. Beavan also received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nomination for Best Costume Design for the play ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

''.

Early life

Beavan was born in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Her father was a

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

, and her mother a viola player. She credits them for instilling a strong work ethic. She also has a sister.

Career

Jenny Beavan is known for her work on

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

films. In the 1970s, she worked on set design for London theatrical productions. She joined the field of film costume design after obtaining an unpaid position to design garments for a small Merchant Ivory film, ''

Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures ''Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures'' is a 1978 film by Merchant Ivory Productions (written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant) set in India, starring UK stage actress Dame Peggy Ashcro ...

''. This began her long relationship with Merchant Ivory productions. She has frequently worked with costume designer

, who runs the costume-rental house Cosprop, and credits him with educating her as she was starting out her career. She said she was helped by "just listening to him and learning from him, learning the history and the politics of clothing". Since then, the two have collaborated on more than ten films together and have shared six

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nominations. FIDM Museum - Film costumes - Mad Max- Fury Road (24279782153)

In 2016, Beavan won her 3rd BAFTA and 2nd Academy Award in George Miller's post-apocalyptic action film '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. Beavan was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to drama production. In June 2018, Beavan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by

Arts University Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a further and higher education university based in Poole, England, specialising in art, performance, design, and media. It was formerly known as The Arts University College at Bournemouth and The ...

alongside dancer

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educational Sc ...

, graphic designer Margaret Calvert OBE and director and screenwriter

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...

. In 2022, Beavan nabbed her 4th BAFTA, as well as her 3rd Academy Award for

Craig Gillespie Craig Gillespie (born 1 September 1967) is an Australian-American film, television, music video, and commercial director. He is best known for directing the films ''Lars and the Real Girl'' (2007), ''Fright Night'' (2011), ''I, Tonya'' (2017), ...

's Disney live-action spin-off of '' Cruella''.

Personal life

She has one daughter, Caitlin, a theatre producer born in 1985. They worked together on the West End theatre production of ''Third Finger Left Hand'' at Trafalgar Studios in 2013.

Film credits

Accolades

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

The Academy Awards has recognized Beavan's costume work with eleven nominations and three wins, winning Best Costume Design for ''

A Room with a View ''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...

,'' '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', and '' Cruella''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beavan, Jenny Living people 1950 births Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Best Costume Design BAFTA Award winners British costume designers David di Donatello winners Emmy Award winners Officers of the Order of the British Empire Women costume designers