Dorothy Jeakins

Who was Dorothy Jeakins?

Dorothy Jeakins was a costume designer.

Born in San Diego, California, she went to public school in Los Angeles from first grade through high school. When she was a senior at Fairfax High School, she was offered a scholarship to study at the Otis Art Institute.

Jeakins got her start working on WPA projects and as a Disney artist in the 1930s. Her fashion career began as a designer at I. Magnin's, where she was spotted by director Victor Fleming. Hired as a sketch artist for Joan of Arc, Jeakins worked on the costumes along with Barbara Karinska and shared an Oscar with her. This was the first Oscar ever awarded for costumes.

Jeakins was unusual in that she freelanced, never signing a long-term contract with any one studio. She worked steadily for the next thirty-nine years, winning another two Oscars, for Samson and Delilah, and The Night of the Iguana, and another 12 nominations. She was perhaps best known for her period costumes, in such films as The Ten Commandments, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Little Big Man, The Way We Were, Young Frankenstein and The Dead. Her modern-dress excursions included Niagara, Three Coins in the Fountain, South Pacific and On Golden Pond.