(1897-1981)

Part I

The U.S. Postal service issued a series of stamps in Feburary 2003 titled "American filmmaking Behind the Scenes", honoring the behind-the-scenes personnel who make movies.  Edith Head received posthumous recognition on a stamp honoring costume design.  

By 1938, Edith Head had become the first woman to be named chief costume designer at a major production company and it was clear that she was an original in her craft.  A decade later, in 1949, she received an Oscar, awarded for the burgundy silk velvet and taffeta two-piece tiered gown designed for Olivia de Havilland to wear as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress for which Olivia de Haviland won for Best Actress.

"Fashion is a language.  Some know it, some learn it, some never will .. like an instinct."

When asked about the most influential men in her life, Head would always reply ..

"There were eight of them, and they were all named Oscar."

Edith Head won eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design out of 35 nominations during her legendary career.  The eight movies she won her Oscars for were The Heiress (1949), Samson and Delilah (1949), All About Eve (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Facts of Life (1960) and The Sting (1973).