Anthea Sylbert

Anthea Sylbert (née Giannakouros; October 6, 1939 – June 18, 2024) was an American film producer and costume designer, who was active during the "modern era" of American film. She was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, first at the 47th Academy Awards for Chinatown (1974), and then at the 50th Academy Awards for her work on Julia (1977). In addition, she had more than ten credits as producer or executive producer, including for such works as CrissCross (1991) and the television film Truman (1995), the latter of which earned Sylbert an Emmy. At the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in 2005, Sylbert was an honoree, receiving the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.

Anthea Sylbert
Publicity photo of Anthea Sylbert
Born	Anthea Giannakouros (1939-10-06)October 6, 1939 New York City, United States
Died	June 18, 2024(2024-06-18) (aged 84) Skiathos, Greece
Occupation	Costume designer
Years active	1967–1999[1][2]
Spouses	Paul Sylbert ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1984)​ Richard Romanus ​ ​ (m. 1985; died 2023)​

Early life and education

Anthea Giannakouros was born in Brooklyn, New York,^[1] on October 6, 1939,^[3] to parents Nick and Georgia Giannakouros and lived in what has been described as a "close-knit Greek family".^[1] She had one brother, Thomas. Keenly interested in artistic activities as a child, she is reported to have learned to sew from a grandmother. She studied art at Barnard College.^[1] Later in life, she moved to the Greek island of Skiathos with her husband, actor Richard Romanus, where they resided until their passing. Sylbert was recognized with the Costume Designers Guild’s Lacoste Career Achievement Award in 2005.

Career

Following her long period of costume design work, Sylbert took on executive production management roles at the vice president level, first at Warner Brothers, then at United Artists, where she was known, in particular, for her skills at conflict resolution when filmmakers were at odds with the studios.^[when?][1] After this period, she began a deep partnership with Goldie Hawn, beginning with the film Private Benjamin (1980).^[1] Ultimately, the two of them created the Hawn/Sylvebert Movie Company,^[when?] which produced a number of films, including Protocol (1984) and Something to Talk About (1995).^[1]

Anthea Sylbert stood out particularly in costume design during the early stages of her career. Starting her artistic journey on Broadway in the late 1960s, she later continued in Hollywood. In her initial significant film projects, she worked with prominent directors and actors, designing character-focused costumes that reflected the spirit of the era.

After studying art at Barnard College and Parsons School of Design in New York, Anthea Sylbert began working as a researcher alongside a costume designer on Broadway. She later took on various roles, including working on low-budget productions and in shoe design. Her first full-length costume design job was for the film The Tiger Makes Out (1967). She subsequently became well-known in Hollywood through films such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and Chinatown (1974). Jack Nicholson said that "In the role dressed by Ant, less acting is required," showing the integration of Sylbert's costume designs with the characters.^[4]

Unlike traditional costume design, Sylbert focused on emphasizing both the era and the characters by supporting the character's psychology and the story's atmosphere through costumes. She collaborated with directors such as Mike Nichols, Roman Polanski, and Elaine May, earning praise for her character-driven costume designs in films like Carnal Knowledge, The Fortune, and Julia.^[5]

Starting in the 1980s, Anthea Sylbert worked in senior executive roles at Warner Bros. and United Artists. She became known for her skills in production management, team coordination, and crisis resolution. Sylbert partnered with Goldie Hawn to establish the Hawn/Sylbert Movie Company. This collaboration led to her producing films such as Private Benjamin (1980), Protocol (1984), and Something to Talk About (1995). She also won an Emmy Award for the television film Truman (1995).^[5]

Work on Chinatown

Sylbert worked with Chinatown (1974) from its early days after her brother-in-law Richard Sylbert introduced and recommended her to director Roman Polanski.^{[6][page needed]} Sylbert was affectionately known in that close-working, small group of accomplished filmmakers as Ant for her penchant for "stringently straight" dark skirts and black turtlenecks.^{[6][page needed]} Sylbert was known to be "utterly unafraid to speak truth, no matter how ugly, to anyone, no matter how powerful".^{[6][page needed]} Her work was described as breaking with the past in its aim at being "not for beauty or for chic" but rather "to amplify character".^{[6][page needed]} Sylbert was nominated for the 1975 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film.^[7]

Guided by Richard Sylbert, Anthea Sylbert first collaborated with Roman Polanski on Rosemary’s Baby and later on Chinatown. During her work with Polanski, she stood out for creating costumes that authentically reflected both the character and the period. Sylbert's most well-known approach was to design her costumes through research in newspaper archives, museum catalogs, and family photo albums, resulting in clothing that served the psychological depth of the character and the integrity of the script. Known among directors and actors for her honest and straightforward manner, Sylbert was a respected and trusted team member in Hollywood; figures like Mike Nichols and Warren Beatty noted that her designs "deepened the story and the characters."^[8]

For the film Chinatown, Sylbert created a simple yet effective visual identity reflecting the Los Angeles of the era, capturing the character's spirit in Jack Nicholson’s costumes. Nicholson liked the costumes he wore in Chinatown so much that he kept them for himself.

While working with Polanski, Sylbert selected costumes that emphasized the ordinary aspects of the era to give viewers the impression that "everything is normal." At Polanski's request, she embraced the philosophy that the "audience is put at ease by the ordinary."^[7]

In 2005, Anthea Sylbert was honored with a career achievement award by the Costume Designers Guild, and in 2008, her insights on the Chinatown production process were featured in the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.^[9]

Outside of Broadway and Hollywood, she also worked as a costume designer on stage productions of major playwrights such as Neil Simon and Tom Stoppard, earning awards in those areas as well.^[10]

Work on Julia

Sylbert was nominated for the 1978 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film Julia (1977).^[11]

Anthea Sylbert was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1978 for her work on the 1977 film Julia. The film, directed by Fred Zinnemann, is a dramatic portrayal of the life of Lillian Hellman, focusing particularly on her childhood friend, Julia.^[12]

Sylbert's role in Julia included significant contributions to the storytelling through the characters' costumes, which were designed to reflect the era's historical context. The costumes were crafted through archival research and selected to reflect the socio-political atmosphere of the 1930s and 1940s. ^[12]

Sylbert's creative approach and experience in theater and film led her to work closely with director Fred Zinnemann and the cast during the production process, enabling the characters' personalities and inner conflicts to be reflected in the costume design. Her design method became a cornerstone of her success in costume design and in her later career as a producer.^[12]

Sylbert's work on this film, as an example of character-driven costume design, improved the originality and historical accuracy of Julia.^[13]

Personal life

In 1965, Sylbert married Paul Sylbert, a production designer, art director and set designer.^[14] The couple divorced in 1984.^[15][16]

In August 1985, Sylbert married the actor and writer Richard Romanus.^[17][18] In 2000, Sylbert and Romanus moved to the Greek island of Skiathos, and were made honorary citizens in 2021.^[15] Sylbert died in Skiathos on June 18, 2024, at the age of 84.^[15]

Filmography

The following is Anthea Sylbert's list of credits, primarily as reported by the British Film Institute.^[2]

Producing

• 1999, If You Believe^[2]
• 1998, Giving up the Ghost (teleplay)^[2]
• 1997, Hope^[2]
• 1995, Truman^[2]
• 1995, Something to Talk About^[2]
• 1991, Deceived^[2]
• 1991, Crisscross^[2]
• 1990, My Blue Heaven^[2]
• 1987, Overboard^[2]
• 1986, Wildcats^[2]
• 1984, Protocol^[2]

Costumes and costume design

• 1978, F.I.S.T.^[2]
• 1977, Julia^[2]
• 1976, The Last Tycoon^[2]
• 1976, King Kong^[2]
• 1975, Shampoo^[2]
• 1974, Chinatown^[2]
• 1974, The Fortune^[2]
• 1972, Bad Company^[2]
• 1971, The Cowboys^[2]
• 1971, Carnal Knowledge^[2]
• 1969, The Illustrated Man^[2]
• 1968, Rosemary's Baby^[2]

Other credits

• 2008, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, on-screen participant^[2]
• 1999, If You Believe, writer,^[2] with Richard Romanus^[17]
• 1976, Mikey and Nicky, visual consultant^[2]

Awards and recognition

In addition to the 1975 and 1978 Academy Award nominations for best costume design,^[7][11] Sylbert won an Emmy for her production of Truman (1995).^[1] In 1999, Sylbert and Richard Romanus were nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America for the Christmas film If You Believe.^[17] Sylbert was an honoree at the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (in 2005), where she received the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.^[19]