Luciana Maria Arrighi (born 1940) is a Brazilian-born, Australian-Italian production designer. In 1993, she won an Oscar for

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

for the film '' Howards End'' (1992), becoming the first Brazilian-born person to win an Oscar. She also earned two more Oscar nominations in the same category for '' The Remains of the Day'' (1993) in 1994, and '' Anna and the King'' (1999) in 2000. In 2003, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Art Direction for the television film '' The Gathering Storm'' (2002).

Career

Luciana Arrighi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1940, daughter of Italian diplomat and former journalist Count Ernesto Arrighi, and Australian Eleanor ("Nellie"), daughter of grazier Douglas Cox. Nellie had been a showgirl with

J.C. Williamson Ltd J. C. Williamson's, formerly Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove and Williamson and Musgrove, was an Australian theatrical management company and theatre owner. With its beginnings in the theatrical productions of J. C. Williamson and his p ...

, and later a model for Schiaparelli in Paris, and was distantly related by marriage to the novelist

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

(Her paternal grandfather's sister was married to Patrick White's great-uncle); over the course of their long friendship they claimed "cousinhood". Ernesto Arrighi was appointed consul at Melbourne in 1937, and met Nellie on a visit to Sydney. They married in 1939, and Ernesto was posted to Rio de Janeiro, where Luciana, their first child, was born. The family returned to Rome in 1943 before going to Nice on the French Riviera, and after the surrender of Italy to the Allies Ernesto was imprisoned by the Germans for "high treason" in 1943. On his release, he was given a diplomatic posting to Sydney, his wife and two daughters going ahead of him, but he died suddenly before being able to join them. Arrighi left Brazil with her parents when she was two years old and was raised and educated in Australia, studying at East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School). She went to the United Kingdom, where she worked for the BBC; she was spotted by

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

, who used her talents in some of his early films such as ''

Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World ''Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World'' is a BBC Television film based on the life of the American dancer Isadora Duncan first broadcast on 22 September 1966. The film was directed and produced by Ken Russell and written by Sewell S ...

'' (1966) and '' Women in Love'' (1969). She went on to study painting in Italy and she has also worked in costume design in theatre and opera, including with Vienna State Opera, Opera Australia and The Royal Opera,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. She lived in Paris for two years and was a model for French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. In 1993, Arrighi received the Silver Ribbon for Best Production Design Award and the Oscar for Best Art Direction for the film '' Howards End'' directed by James Ivory. She was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction for the film '' The Remains of the Day'' (1993), also by James Ivory, and '' Anna and the King'' (1999) by Andy Tennant. She won the British BAFTA Award for Best Art Direction for the television film '' The Gathering Storm'' (2002), directed by Richard Loncraine.

Personal life

In 1970, Arrighi married Captain Rupert Milo Talbot Chetwynd (1934-2021), of the Grenadier Guards and 21st SAS Regiment, later an adventurer and founder of a medical mission to Afghanistan. He was a descendant of the 6th Viscount Chetwynd. They had a son, Aaron, and daughter, Alalia, the artist Monster Chetwynd.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, p. 769 Arrighi splits her time between London and France.

Filmography

Production design

Scenographer A scenographer or production designer, develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term originated in theater. A scenographer work ...

: * '' Monitor'' (1965), director David Jones, 1 episode * ''

'' (1966), TV, director

* ''

Omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

'' (1967), 1 episode * '' Sunday Bloody Sunday'' (1971), director John Schlesinger * '' The Night the Prowler'' (1978), director Jim Sharman * '' My Brilliant Career'' (1979), director

Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary director, who specializes in period drama. Her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists. Many of her movies are historical dramas. Ea ...

* '' The Return of the Soldier'' (1982), director Alan Bridges * '' Privates on Parade'' (1983), director Michael Blakemore * '' The Ploughman's Lunch'' (1983), director Richard Eyre * '' Mrs. Soffel'' (1984), director

* '' Madame Sousatzka'' (1988), director John Schlesinger * '' The Rainbow'' (1989), director

* '' Bye Bye Columbus'' (1991), TV, director Peter Barnes * '' Close My Eyes (film)'' (1991), director

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" who had "inherited Dennis Potter's crown". Early ...

* '' Howards End (film)'' (1992), director James Ivory * '' The Innocent'' (1993), director John Schlesinger * '' The Remains of the Day (film)'' (1993), director James Ivory * ''

Only You (1994 film) ''Only You'' is a 1994 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., and Bonnie Hunt. Written by Diane Drake and Malia Scotch Marmo (uncredited), the film is about a young woman whose sear ...

'' (1994), director Norman Jewison * '' Sense and Sensibility (film)'' (1995), director Ang Lee * ''

Surviving Picasso ''Surviving Picasso'' is a 1996 Merchant Ivory film directed by James Ivory and starring Anthony Hopkins as the famous painter Pablo Picasso. It was produced by Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay was loosely bas ...

'' (1996), director James Ivory * '' Victory (1996 film)'' (1996), director Mark Peploe * '' Oscar and Lucinda (film)'' (1997), director

* '' A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)'' (1999), director Michael Hoffman * '' Jakob the Liar'' (1999) * '' Anna and the King'' (1999), director

Andy Tennant Andrew Wellman Tennant (born June 15, 1955) is an American screenwriter, film and television director, actor, and dancer. Early life Tennant was born June 15, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois and was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago ...

* '' The Gathering Storm (2002 film)'' (2002), TV, director Richard Loncraine * '' The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)'' (2002), director Oliver Parker * '' Possession (2002 film)'' (2002), director Neil LaBute * '' My House in Umbria'' (2003), TV, director Richard Loncraine * '' Being Julia'' (2004), director István Szabó * ''

Fade to Black (2006 film) ''Fade to Black'' is a 2006 British political thriller drama film directed by Oliver Parker and starring Danny Huston as Orson Welles. Plot In 1947 Hollywood, Orson Welles had a divorce from Rita Hayworth. When he travels to Rome for the lead r ...

'' (2006), director Oliver Parker * ''

Into the Storm (2009 film) ''Into the Storm'' or ''Churchill at War'' ''(alt. title)'' is a 2009 biographical film about Winston Churchill and his days in office during the Second World War. The movie is directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan and stars Brendan Gleeson as the Bri ...

'' (2009), TV, director Thaddeus O'Sullivan * '' From Time to Time'' (2009), director Julian Fellowes * '' Singularity'' (2013), director Roland Joffé * '' Angelica'' (2015), director Mitchell Lichtenstein

Costume design

* ''

Starstruck (2010 film) ''Starstruck'', stylized as ''StarStruck'', is a 2010 American teen musical drama television film starring Sterling Knight and Danielle Campbell that premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on February 14, 2010. Plot Kalamazoo, Michigan teen ...

'' (1982) * '' Privates on Parade'' (1983) * '' The Ploughman's Lunch'' (1983) * '' Un ballo in maschera'' (1989), TV

Set and production design

* '' Women in Love'' (1969), director

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Luciana Arrighi's official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrighi, Luciana 1940 births Living people People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Australian production designers Italian production designers Best Art Direction Academy Award winners National Art School alumni Members of the Order of Australia Brazilian emigrants to Australia Australian emigrants to Italy Best Production Design AACTA Award winners Women production designers Australian female models Italian female models