Ruth E. Carter Makes History as the First Black Woman to Win an Oscar For Costume Design

Costume designer @iamRuthECarter on #BlackPanther: "Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king." https://t.co/I1ZkzK7cSQ #oscars pic.twitter.com/C7ViQBdVVx

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 25, 2019

Ruth E. Carter made history at the Oscars on Sunday night as the first black woman to ever win the award for best costume design. The costume designer took home a statue for her work on Black Panther, where she designed around 1,500 costumes that captured the royal essence of the film's fictional setting in Wakanda.

"Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king," Carter started off her acceptance speech. "It's been my life's honour to create costumes. Thank you to the Academy, and thank you for honouring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on screen." She later thanked director Spike Lee, who she first worked with on School Daze in 1988. "I hope this makes you proud," she said.

This was Carter's third Oscar nomination — she previously received nominations for her work on Amistad and Malcolm X — though it was her first time taking home an award. See more of Sunday night's winners here.