Shirley Ann Russell (11 March 1935 – 4 March 2002, nee Kingdon) was a British

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 ...

. In a career spanning over four decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across film and television. She was nominated for two

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 ...

in the category Best Costume Design for the films '' Agatha'' (1979) and '' Reds'' (1981).

Career

Waltham Forest College - 707 Forest Road Walthamstow London E17 4JB

Russell studied Fashion at Walthamstow College of Art, and she later attended the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

. She ran her own firm of film costumiers, called ''The Last Picture Frock'', particularly specialising in 1930s and 1940s clothing. The firm was sold to the costumier ''Angels'' in the 1970s. Her interest in historic costume began when she assisted Doris Langley Moore, the founder of the Bath Costume Museum. She was a widely-acknowledged expert on period costuming and was often called upon by art dealers to help them date paintings. Russell's costume designs were detailed and nuanced, using costume to show subtle distinctions in class. She was known for the weight and authenticity her design lent to characters. In ''Women in Love'' (1969) her designs signalled the social and cultural differences between the two Brangwen sisters and the Crich family, and were nominated for a Best Costume Design BAFA. She designed for stars such as

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

in ''A Song at Twilight,''

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

in '' Valentino'' and

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

in ''

Lisztomania Lisztomania or Liszt fever was the intense fan frenzy directed toward Hungarian composer Franz Liszt during his performances. This frenzy first occurred in Berlin in 1841 and the term was later coined by Heinrich Heine in a feuilleton he wrote o ...

''. Her design for Daltrey was described by Russell as "fantasticated gear" - the jacket had huge labels featuring keyboard motifs. Another "fantasticated design" is 'The Acid Queen' from '' Tommy''. Collaborations with her husband

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 were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

included: ''

Women in Love ''Women in Love'' is a 1920 novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel, '' The Rainbow'' (1915), and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an arti ...

'', '' Amelia and the Angel'', '' The Music Lovers'', '' The Devils'', '' The Boy Friend'', '' Savage Messiah'', ''

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'', '' Tommy'', ''

'', and '' Valentino''. Russell's other credits include ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'', ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the final novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Florence, Italy, and in 1929, in Paris, France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Ki ...

'', ''

The Return of the Soldier ''The Return of the Soldier'' is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West, first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War from the perspective ...

'', '' The Razor's Edge'', '' Hope and Glory'', '' The Bride'', ''

Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and produced by Joseph Janni and Lester Persky, and is written by Colin Welland and Walter Bernstein. It stars Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Chick ...

'', ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'', '' I Dreamed of Africa'', and '' Shackleton''.

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Russell was born as Shirley Ann Kingdon in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Whilst studying at Walthamstow College of Art, she met her husband the film director

, to whom she was married from 1956 to 1978. They both converted to

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

ism prior to their marriage. They had five children: Xavier, James, Alexander, Victoria and Toby. Following her divorce from Ken Russell, she lived for many years with director Jonathan Benson in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

Death

She died from cancerRaising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of the Devils
/ref> in March 2002, one week before her 67th birthday.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Shirley 1935 births 2002 deaths Best Costume Design BAFTA Award winners British costume designers British women costume designers Converts to Roman Catholicism Deaths from cancer in England Designers from London English costume designers