‘Sinners’ Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter Has Become the Most-Nominated Black Woman in Oscars History

Ruth E. Carter has broken an Oscars record.

With the reveal of the 2026 Oscars nominations, the legendary costume designer, 65, became the most-nominated Black woman across any category in the ceremony’s nearly century-old history.

This year, Carter earned her fifth nod for costume design for her work in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The film, which stars Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku and Hailee Steinfeld, earned a grand 16 nominations, including Best Picture, breaking a record for the most nominations for a single film ever.

The previous record holders were Titanic (1997), La La Land (2016) and All About Eve (1950), which each earned 14 nods. Director Coogler is also now the second Black filmmaker nominated in the same year for producing, directing and original screenplay, following Jordan Peele’s triple recognition for Get Out, writes Variety.

Carter celebrated her first Oscar win in 2019 for her designs in Marvel’s Black Panther, and then won her second Oscar for Wakanda Forever in 2019. She was also nominated for costume design in 1993 for Malcolm X and in 1998 for Amistad. Today, she is the only Black woman to take home an Oscar more than once.

Variety reports that Carter was previously tied with Viola Davis for the title of most nominated. Now, she, Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman are all tied for third most-nominated Black creative overall, after Denzel Washington Quincy Jones, who come first and second with seven and nine noms respectively. The outlet also states that only 20 Oscars have been awarded to Black women since 1929.

Following the news, Carter couldn’t contain her excitement and shared a message of gratitude in an Instagram post on Jan. 22. “I am so happy for all my fellow nominees, I’m so happy that I got one too. It’s so cool, I’m just beside myself,” she said. Carter also thanked fans for receiving the story behind Sinners “so beautifully.”

The four other nominees in the Best Achievement in Costume Design category include Deborah L. Scott (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Kate Hawley (Frankenstein), Malgosia Turzanska (Hamnet) and Miyako Belizzi (Marty Supreme).

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With an outstanding legacy in costuming, Carter extended her work beyond the seams in 2023 with the release of her memoir,The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther.

Speaking with PEOPLE about the project, she shared, “I had so many stories that I feel were very unique to my movie experience. I didn’t want to forget the details because nothing was written down. And, what? I have 40 years in the business, so I was like, it’s time to write everything down. It’s time to share with the world.”

Reflecting on her first Oscar win, she added, “I was kind of shaking my head as I walked up onto the stage because I thought to myself, ‘I am the role model.’ I felt affirmed.” And the moment she took home another statue, “The second one, I said, ‘I’m affirmed. This is real.’ Not that I didn’t feel like I was real, it just felt even more important.”