Jenny Beavan

Jenny Beavan OBE, RDI (born 1950) is a British costume designer. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2017, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama production.

Jenny Beavan OBE
Born	(1950-11-15) 15 November 1950 (age 74)[1] London, England
Occupation	Costume designer
Years active	1978 — present
Spouse	Ian Albery ​ (before 1985)​
Children	1

Beavan came to prominence for her decade-long collaboration with John Bright on creating the costumes for Merchant Ivory Productions. She has received 12 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and has won three times for A Room with a View (1985), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Cruella (2021). She has also been nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design ten times and had a record four wins for A Room With a View, Gosford Park (2001), Mad Max: Fury Road, and Cruella.

On television, Beavan has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special five times, winning twice for Emma (1996) and Return to Cranford (2010). She has also received three nominations for the British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Costume Design.

On stage, Beavan created costumes for numerous productions, including those of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West End, and Broadway. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Costume Design for the 2001 West End revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives. She received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design the following year when the production was transferred to Broadway.

Early life

Beavan was born in London, England. Her father was a cellist, and her mother a viola player. She has a sister.^[2] Beavan credits her parents for instilling a strong work ethic.^[3] She attended Putney High School, an independent girls' day school in Putney, London.^[4]

Career

Detail of the costume worn by Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, designed by Beavan and John Bright.

Jenny Beavan is known for her work on Merchant Ivory films.^[5] In the 1970s, she worked on set design for London theatrical productions.^[2] She joined the field of film costume design after obtaining an unpaid position to design garments for a small Merchant Ivory film, Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures.^[2][3][6] Beavan was assistant to Judy Moorcroft on the 1979 film The Europeans, the first 'proper' Merchant-Ivory film that featured precise and authentic period costuming.^[7] This began her long relationship with Merchant Ivory productions.

She has frequently worked with costume designer John Bright, who runs the costume-rental house Cosprop, and credits him with educating her as she was starting out her career. She said she was helped by "just listening to him and learning from him, learning the history and the politics of clothing".^[5] Since then, the two have collaborated on more than ten films together and have shared six Oscar nominations.^[5]

Detail of the costume worn by Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, designed by Beavan.

In 2016, Beavan won her 3rd BAFTA and 2nd Academy Award in George Miller's post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road.^[8][9]

Beavan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama production.^[10][11]

In June 2018, Beavan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Arts University Bournemouth alongside dancer Darcey Bussell, graphic designer Margaret Calvert, OBE, and director and screenwriter Edgar Wright.^[12]

In 2022, Beavan nabbed her 4th BAFTA, as well as her 3rd Academy Award for Craig Gillespie's Disney live-action spin-off of Cruella.^[13][14][15]

Personal life

She has one daughter, Caitlin,^[2] a theatre producer born in 1985. They worked together on the West End theatre production of Third Finger Left Hand at Trafalgar Studios in 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1979	The Europeans	James Ivory	Costume assistant to Judy Moorcroft
1980	Jane Austen in Manhattan
1984	The Bostonians		with John Bright
1985	A Room with a View
1987	Maurice
1988	A Summer Story	Piers Haggard
	The Deceivers	Nicholas Meyer	with John Bright
1990	Mountains of the Moon	Bob Rafelson
1991	White Fang	Randal Kleiser
	Impromptu	James Lapine
1992	Howards End	James Ivory	with John Bright
1993	Swing Kids	Thomas Carter
	The Remains of the Day	James Ivory	with John Bright
1994	Black Beauty	Caroline Thompson
1995	Jefferson in Paris	James Ivory	with John Bright
	Sense and Sensibility	Ang Lee
1996	Jane Eyre	Franco Zeffirelli
1997	Metroland	Philip Saville
1998	Ever After	Andy Tennant
1999	Tea with Mussolini	Franco Zeffirelli	with Anna Anni and Alberto Spiazzi
	Anna and the King	Andy Tennant
2001	Gosford Park	Robert Altman
2002	Possession	Neil LaBute
2003	Timeline	Richard Donner
2004	Alexander	Oliver Stone
2005	Casanova	Lasse Hallström
2006	The Amazing Grace	Jeta Amata
	The Black Dahlia	Brian De Palma
	Amazing Grace	Michael Apted
2008	Defiance	Edward Zwick
2009	Sherlock Holmes	Guy Ritchie
2010	The King's Speech	Tom Hooper
2011	Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	Guy Ritchie
2012	Gambit	Michael Hoffman
2015	Child 44	Daniel Espinosa
	Mad Max: Fury Road	George Miller
2016	A United Kingdom	Amma Asante
	A Cure for Wellness	Gore Verbinski
2017	Life	Daniel Espinosa
2018	Christopher Robin	Marc Forster
	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms	Lasse Hallström Joe Johnston
2019	Mrs Lowry & Son	Adrian Noble
2020	Dolittle	Stephen Gaghan
2021	Cruella	Craig Gillespie
2022	Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Anthony Fabian
2024	White Bird	Marc Forster
	Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	George Miller
TBA	The Choral †	Nicholas Hytner	Post-production

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1978	Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures	with Purnima Agarwal Also makes a cameo as Governess Television film
1980	Holding the Fort	Episode: "Over a Barrel"
1981	A Fine Romance	6 episodes
1986	Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy	6 episodes
1989	Back Home	Television film
1992	The Blackheath Poisonings	3 episodes
1996	Emma	Television film
2002	The Gathering Storm
2003	Byron	2 episodes
2007	Cranford	5 episodes
2009	Return to Cranford	2 episodes
2015	Esio Trot	Television film

Awards and nominations

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1984	Best Costume Design	The Bostonians	Nominated	[16]
1986		A Room with a View	Won	[17]
1987		Maurice	Nominated	[18]
1992		Howards End	Nominated	[19]
1993		The Remains of the Day	Nominated	[20]
1995		Sense and Sensibility	Nominated	[21]
1999		Anna and the King	Nominated	[22]
2001		Gosford Park	Nominated	[23]
2010		The King's Speech	Nominated	[24]
2015		Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[25]
2021		Cruella	Won	[26]
2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Nominated	[27]

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
1984	Best Costume Design	The Bostonians	Nominated	[28]
1986		A Room with a View	Won	[29]
1992		Howards End	Nominated	[30]
1995		Sense and Sensibility	Nominated	[31]
1999		Tea with Mussolini	Nominated	[32]
2001		Gosford Park	Won	[33]
2010		The King's Speech	Nominated	[34]
2015		Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[35]
2021		Cruella	Won	[36]
2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Nominated	[37]
British Academy Television Craft Awards
2003	Best Costume Design	The Gathering Storm	Nominated	[38]
2008		Cranford	Nominated	[39]
2010		Return to Cranford	Nominated	[40]

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards
1986	Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special	Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (Episode: "Part 1")	Nominated	[41]
1997		Emma	Won[a]
2002		The Gathering Storm	Nominated
2008		Cranford (Episode: "Part 1")	Nominated
2010		Return to Cranford (Episode: "Part 2")	Won

Laurence Olivier Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2002	Best Costume Design	Private Lives	Won	[42]

Tony Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2002	Best Costume Design	Private Lives	Nominated	[43]

Miscellaneous awards

List of Jenny Beavan other awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
AACTA Awards[b]	2015	Best Costume Design	Mad Max: Fury Road	Nominated	[44]
	2024		Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Won	[45]
Africa Movie Academy Awards	2006	Best Costume Design	The Amazing Grace	Nominated	[46]
American Cinematheque's Tribute to the Crafts	2021	Feature Film – Costume Designer	Cruella	Won	[47]
Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards[c]	2021	Best Costume Design		Won	[48]
	2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Nominated	[49]
	2024		Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Nominated	[50]
British Independent Film Awards	2022	Best Costume Design	Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Won	[51]
Camerimage	2023	Costume Designer with Unique Visual Sensitivity	—	Honored	[52]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	2021	Best Costume Design	Cruella	Nominated	[53]
	2024		Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Won	[54]
Ciak d'oro	1999	Best Costume Design	Tea with Mussolini	Nominated
Costume Designers Guild Awards	2008	Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries	Cranford	Nominated	[55]
	2009	Excellence in Period Film	Sherlock Holmes	Nominated	[56]
	2010		The King's Speech	Won	[57]
	2015	Excellence in Fantasy Film	Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[58]
	2018	Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms	Nominated	[59]
	2020		Dolittle	Nominated	[60]
	2021	Excellence in Period Film	Cruella	Won	[61]
	2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Nominated	[62]
	2024	Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film	Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Nominated	[63]
		Career Achievement Award	—	Honored	[64]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	2010	Best Costume Design	The King's Speech	Nominated	[65]
	2015		Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[66]
	2021		Cruella	Won	[67]
David di Donatello Awards	1996	Best Costumes	Jane Eyre	Won	[68]
Drama Desk Awards	2002	Outstanding Costume Design	Private Lives	Nominated	[69]
Empire Awards	2015	Best Costume Design	Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[70]
Evening Standard British Film Awards	2010	Technical Achievement Award	The King's Speech (costume design)	Nominated	[71]
London Film Critics' Circle Awards	2021	Technical Achievement Award	Cruella (costumes)	Nominated	[72]
Online Film Critics Society Awards	2021	Best Costume Design	Cruella	Nominated	[73]
	2024		Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Nominated	[74]
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards	2004	Best Costume Design – Drama	Byron	Won	[75]
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	2021	Best Costume Design	Cruella	Won	[76]
	2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Runner-up	[77]
Satellite Awards	1998	Best Costume Design	Ever After	Nominated	[78]
	1999		Anna and the King	Nominated	[79]
	2006		The Black Dahlia	Nominated	[80]
	2007		Amazing Grace	Nominated	[81]
	2010		The King's Speech	Nominated	[82]
Saturn Awards	1998	Best Costume Design	Ever After	Won	[83]
	2009		Sherlock Holmes	Nominated	[84]
	2011		Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	Nominated	[85]
	2021/22		Cruella	Nominated	[86]
Seattle Film Critics Society Awards[d]	2015	Best Costume Design	Mad Max: Fury Road	Won	[87]
	2021		Cruella	Nominated	[88]
	2024		Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	Nominated	[89]
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards	2021	Best Costume Design	Cruella	Won	[90]
	2022		Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Nominated	[91]

Honorary degrees

Name of school, year given, and name of degree

School	Year	Degree	Ref.
University of Huddersfield	2024	Doctor of the University (Hon DUniv)	[92]

Other honours

• Beavan was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama production.^[93]
• Beavan was made a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society of Arts in 2022.^[94]

Notes

1. Tied with Mary Malin for The Inheritance
2. formerly known as "Australian Film Institute Awards"
3. formerly known as "Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards" and "Hollywood Critics Association Awards"
4. prior to the SFCS formal establishment in 2016, a group of Seattle-area critics compiled the Seattle Film Critics Awards from 2013 to 2015.