Elois Jenssen (November 5, 1922 – February 14, 2004) was an American film and television

costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

er. She earned

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

nominations for design work in the

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

production ''Samson and Delilah'' (1949) and for her work on the Walt Disney Studios film ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

'' (1982).

Background

Elois W. Jenssen was born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. She attended the

Westlake School for Girls Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school in Los Angeles, California, with about 1,600 students in grades seven through twelve. The school has two campuses: the middle school campus in Holmby ...

before moving to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study fashion at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

division. She returned to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

after the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and enrolled at the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Chouinard, Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt Disney, Walt and ...

Career

She began her film career as an assistant costume designer in

Hunt Stromberg Hunt Stromberg (July 12, 1894 – August 23, 1968) was a film producer during Hollywood's Golden Age. In a prolific 30-year career beginning in 1921, Stromberg produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood's most profitable and enduring films, ...

's production company and received her first screen credit designing

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American actress and inventor. After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial erotic romantic drama '' Ecstasy ...

's gowns for ''Dishonored Lady'' in 1947. She was designer on the film ''Lured'' starring Lucille Ball and thus began an association that ultimately lead to designing for ''I Love Lucy''. In 1948, her design for a white fleece overcoat, electrically heated by batteries carried in two side pockets (with an extension cord that could be plugged in on planes or trains), was featured in a

futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently e ...

fashion show sponsored by the Los Angeles Fashion Group. In 1951,

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

approached Jenssen and asked her if she would be interested in designing costumes for a new

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

she and her husband

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...

were readying for CBS. Under exclusive contract to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

at the time, she was unable to accept the offer, but after leaving the studio to

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, she spent a season designing clothing for

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...

on '' Private Secretary'', then contacted Ball to see if the position on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' was available. She was hired at $100 per episode, considerably less than her

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

salary, one week before the filming of the 1953-54 season began, and the following season her salary increased to $150. When she held out for $200 the next year, cost-conscious executives at

Desilu Desilu Productions, Inc. () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', '' The Lucy Show'', '' Mannix'', '' The ...

replaced her. Her later television credits included designs for

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate Business magnate, mogul. ...

in ''

My Living Doll ''My Living Doll'' is an American science-fiction sitcom starring Bob Cummings and Julie Newmar. The series was aired on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Cherto ...

'' and

Eleanor Parker Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films ''Caged (1950 film), Caged'' (1950), ''Detective Story (1951 film), Detective Story'' (1951 ...

in ''

Bracken's World ''Bracken's World'' is an American drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19, 1969, to December 25, 1970. The series was created and produced by Dorothy Kingsley. In addition, Kingsley also wrote several episodes. The Lette ...

''.

Additional credits

*'' Samson and Delilah'' (1949) *''

Cry Danger ''Cry Danger'' is a 1951 film noir thriller film, starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming. The film was directed by Robert Parrish, a former child star and later editor in his debut as a director. Plot Rocky Mulloy was sentenced to life in pris ...

'' (1951) *''

Phone Call from a Stranger ''Phone Call from a Stranger'' is a 1952 American film noir drama film directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Nunnally Johnson, based on the 1950 novelette of the same name by I. A. R. Wylie. The film centers on the survivor of an airc ...

'' (1952) *''

We're Not Married! ''We're Not Married!'' is a 1952 American anthology romantic comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding. It was released by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson, while the story was adapted by Dwight Taylor from Gina ...

'' (1952) *''

Forever, Darling ''Forever, Darling'' is a 1956 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, written by Helen Deutsch, and starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason. In the film, Ball stars as a wife who tries to save her struggling ...

'' (1956) *''

'' (1982)

Awards and nominations

*1951 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color (''Samson and Delilah'', winner) (shared with

Edith Head Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...

Dorothy Jeakins Dorothy Jeakins (January 11, 1914 – November 21, 1995) was an American costume designer. Biography Born in San Diego, California, she went to public school in Los Angeles from first grade through high school. When she was a senior at Fairfax H ...

Gile Steele Gile Steele (September 24, 1908 — January 16, 1952) was a Hollywood costume designer. His career began at MGM in 1938 with one of his first assignments being the Norma Shearer film ''Marie Antoinette''. He also worked on many of the company's ...

and

Gwen Wakeling Gwendolyn Sewell Wakeling (March 3, 1901 in Detroit, Michigan – June 16, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) was an American costume designer and the daughter of film editor/press agent Edith Wakeling. Gwen Wakeling's first film was Cecil B. DeMi ...

) *1983 Academy Award for Best Costume Design (''TRON'', nominee) (shared with Rosanna Norton) *1983

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

for Best Costumes (''TRON'', winner) (shared with Rosanna Norton)

References

External links

*
''USA Today'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensson, Elois American costume designers California people in fashion 1922 births 2004 deaths Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Chouinard Art Institute alumni Parsons School of Design alumni People from Palo Alto, California American people of Norwegian descent Harvard-Westlake School alumni