Paul Tazewell won the Academy Award for best costume design for “Wicked.”Credit...Nina Westervelt for The New York Times
By Marc Tracy
March 2, 2025
Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win the Oscar for best costume design Sunday. Honored for his work on the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked,” Tazewell stepped to the dais and said, “I am the first Black man to receive the costume design award.” The remark prompted a standing ovation as Tazewell continued with his brief acceptance speech, in which he thanked “my Oz-ian muses, Cynthia and Ariana,” referring to the actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
In 2019, Ruth E. Carter became the first Black designer to win the Oscar for costume design, for her work on “Black Panther.”
View the article online here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/movies/paul-tazewell-oscars-costume-wicked.html
Marc Tracy is a Times reporter covering arts and culture. He is based in New York. More about Marc Tracy
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