Ruth E. Carter Becomes The First Black Costume Designer to Earn a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

by Jamila Lizet White

February 18, 2021

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

History being made during Black History Month? We love to see it. The costume designer that’s behind Black Panther, Love & Basketball, and the highly anticipated Coming 2 America Ruth E. Carter will make history as the first Black costume designer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for LG V40 ThinQ

The award-winning costume designer took to Twitter to share the news. Playing off of the words from the lead single in the soundtrack album from Black Panther, she wrote “ALL the STARS are CLOSER! Especially those on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

“I raise my star, thankful for my life, to embrace the people who know my journey and are very proud of me and of my work,” she continued. “And now that history is made I raise my star as I am forever grateful.”

The Springfield, Massachusetts native is currently being celebrated at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film where decades of her work is shown in the ‘Ruth E Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design’ exhibition. Over 60 costumes are showcased, including Denzel Washington‘s Malcolm X portrayal and Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa.

“The opportunity to infuse the different cultures around Africa was a huge honor,” Carter told The Guardian when speaking to her design influences in Black Panther. “I felt there were still people who have this backwards mindset that Africa is just one monolithic place, people living in huts with flies on their face.”

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The 60-year-old even spoke to what viewers can expect in the Coming to America sequel which is set to be released on Amazon Prime next month.

“This is African Royalty,” said the Hampton alumna. “We want to honor Africa, we want to honor the first movie and still want it to be modern and fresh.”

Carter revealed that Coming 2 America will show more of Zamunda, the fictitious country Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is from. Additionally, the crowns and jewels were all 3D-printed except for one stating, “One crown from the original movie shows up here, James Earl Jones wore his original crown. For this film, we were all about the opulence of royalty.”

Oprah Winfrey and Murphy will serve as guest speakers for the virtual ceremony on Feb. 25.

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