Costume designer Edith Head was born on October 28, 1897, in Los Angeles, California, USA. She passed away on October 24, 1981.
She was a teacher, but quit her job when she heard about a job opening for a costume designer at Paramount Pictures. Though she had no experience in fashion design, she went to an interview with a design sketch drawn by a friend and landed a job in the company's costume department. Early in her career, she worked mostly on films directed by Cecil B. DeMille. She gained popularity for her costumes for Princess Anne in Roman Holiday (1953), starring Audrey Hepburn, and Sabrina in Sabrina (1954).
Alfred Hitchcock was so impressed with her designs that he entrusted her with the costumes for most of his films, starting with Rear Window in 1954, including Vertigo and The Birds. Edith Hitchcock was also a great admirer of actress Grace Kelly, who appeared in many of Hitchcock's films, and designed her wedding dress when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She was also trusted by other popular actresses, including Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood. In addition to actresses, she also designed costumes for Robert Redford and Paul Newman in films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), and The Great Passage (1975). She won eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and was nominated 35 times. At the time, actresses' costumes were generally considered to be extravagant and ornate, but she incorporated simple beauty and fashion sense into her designs, making her a leading figure in Hollywood costume design. She passed away in 1981.