Oscar-nominated costume designer April Ferry died Thursday, according to theCostume Designers Guild. She was 91.
Throughout her more than five-decade career, Ferry was a costume designer for over 50 projects, with credits in both film and television, netting an Oscar nomination for 1994’s “Maverick” and working on “Game of Thrones” and “Rome.”
She frequently worked with directors for multiple projects, collaborating with John Maybury on “The Edge of Love,” “Rome,” Jonathan Mostow on “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” “U-571,” John Hughes on “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “She’s Having a Baby” and Richard Kelly on “Southland Tales” and “Donnie Darko.”
Ferry’s first TV project, “Rome,” a 2005 historical drama set at the height of the Roman Empire, earned her an Emmy win. She’d describe the gig as “the job of a lifetime” before later taking over for Michele Clapton in costume designing Season 6 of “Game of Thrones.”
Ferry’s costume designing would often venture into the science fiction genre, with recent film credits including “Jurassic World,” “Elysium” and 2014’s “RoboCop.”
Ferry garnered many accolades throughout her career, including an Emmy nomination for “My Name is Bill W.” A longtime member of the Executive Board of the Costume Designer’s Guild, Ferry was honored with the CDG’s Career Achievement Award.
When asked once by the Guardian what she sacrificed for her art, she said, “A regular life. I spent a lot of my time on location. But it has meant I’ve traveled all over the world – I wouldn’t exactly call it a sacrifice.”
Ferry was born on Oct. 31, 1932, and raised in North Carolina. She fell in love with costume design as a dancer on Broadway. After 17 years as a costume supervisor, she began working with Ret Turner and Bob Mackie on “The Sonny & Cher Show” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” She’d then go on to collaborate with costume designer Robert Fletcher, starting with films including “The Big Chill.” Their friendship and collaboration spanned many decades and projects until his death in 2021.
Ferry is survived by her grandchildren and children, Steve, David and Katy.
