Rita Ryack is a

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

who was nominated for an

Academy Award 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 ...

for Best Costume Design at the

73rd Academy Awards The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 2000 in film and took place on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Pacif ...

for her work in ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a children's Christmas book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a green cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the pu ...

''. She was also nominated for a

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

at the

37th Tony Awards The 37th Annual Tony Awards was held at the Gershwin Theatre on June 5, 1983, and broadcast by CBS television. Hosts were Richard Burton, Lena Horne, and Jack Lemmon. Eligibility Shows that opened on Broadway during the 1982–1983 season before ...

for '' My One and Only'', and was nominated for the award again in 2014, for ''

Casa Valentina ''Casa Valentina'' is a 2014 American play written by Harvey Fierstein which premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway in April 2014 and opened in London in September 2015. It tells the story of men who spend weekends at a resort in the Catskill m ...

''. She received a further nomination at the

62nd Primetime Emmy Awards The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT (00:00 UTC; August 30). Come ...

for the film '' You Don't Know Jack''.

Career

Rita Ryack was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. She received her BFA from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

and later her MFA from

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

. She began her work in the entertainment induesty as a cartoon animator for Lisberger Studios in Boston. Her first design job for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical My One and Only, for which she earned her first Tony nomination. Throughout the years she has done costume design for a wide range of productions such as films like

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

, and

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

, many on and off Broadway theater productions, as well as the music video for Bad by Michael Jackson. Notably she has, many times, worked with

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

, and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

. While designing for productions such as the Broadway play

she references old advertisements, photographs, and films for inspiration.

Selected works

References

External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American costume designers American women costume designers {{US-film-bio-stub