Jenny Beavan

Jenny Beavan (born 1950) is an English costume designer. In a career spanning over four decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across stage and screen. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, and an Olivier Award. Beavan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama production.

Beavan gained international recognition for her collaboration with John Bright on creating the costumes for Merchant Ivory Productions. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design twelve times, winning three awards for A Room with a View (1985), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Cruella (2021). She has also received ten nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design, winning four awards for A Room With a View, Gosford Park (2001), Mad Max: Fury Road, and Cruella.

On television, Beavan has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special five times, winning two awards for Emma (1996) and Return to Cranford (2010). She has also received three nominations for the British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Costume Design.

On stage, Beavan created costumes for numerous productions, including those of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West End, and Broadway. She garnered the Tony Award for Best Costume Design nomination for the 2002 Broadway revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives. She has also received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Costume Design for the 2001 London revival of Private Lives.

Early life
Beavan was born in London, England. Her father was a cellist, and her mother a viola player. She credits them for instilling a strong work ethic. She also has a sister.

Career
Jenny Beavan is known for her work on Merchant Ivory films. In the 1970s, she worked on set design for London theatrical productions. She joined the field of film costume design after obtaining an unpaid position to design garments for a small Merchant Ivory film, Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures. This began her long relationship with Merchant Ivory productions.

She has frequently worked with costume designer John Bright, who runs the costume-rental house Cosprop, and credits him with educating her as she was starting out her career. She said she was helped by "just listening to him and learning from him, learning the history and the politics of clothing". Since then, the two have collaborated on more than ten films together and have shared six Oscar nominations.

In 2016, Beavan won her 3rd BAFTA and 2nd Academy Award in George Miller's post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road.

Beavan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama production.

In June 2018, Beavan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Arts University Bournemouth alongside dancer Darcey Bussell, graphic designer Margaret Calvert OBE and director and screenwriter Edgar Wright.

In 2022, Beavan nabbed her 4th BAFTA, as well as her 3rd Academy Award for Craig Gillespie's Disney live-action spin-off of Cruella.

Personal life
She has one daughter, Caitlin, a theatre producer born in 1985. They worked together on the West End theatre production of Third Finger Left Hand at Trafalgar Studios in 2013.

Major associations
Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

Emmy Awards

Laurence Olivier Awards

Tony Awards

Other honors

 * Beavan was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama production.
 * Beavan was made a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society of Arts in 2022.