Ellen Mirojnick

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Ellen Mirojnick
Born (1949-07-07) July 7, 1949 (age 76)
Education School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design
Occupation Costume designer
Years active1970–present

Ellen Mirojnick (born July 7, 1949 in New York City) is an American costume designer. [1] She is a frequent collaborator of actor Michael Douglas, having overseen the costume design for the films Fatal Attraction (1987), Wall Street (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), A Perfect Murder (1998), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and Behind the Candelabra (2013). [2] The wardrobe which she created for the character of Gordon Gekko inspired a fashion trend in the late 1980s and early 1990s for boldly patterned ties, sleek suits, crisp white shirts, and colorful suspenders in men's business wear. [3] She has also been a frequent collaborator of directors Jan de Bont and Paul Verhoeven, acting as costume designer on de Bont's films Speed (1994), Twister (1996) and The Haunting (1999), as well as Verhoeven's films Basic Instinct (1992), Showgirls (1995), Starship Troopers (1997) and Hollow Man (2000). [4]

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She won an Emmy and a Costume Designers Guild Award in 2013 for her work on the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. [5]   In 2016, she was given the Career Achievement Award by the Costume Designers Guild. [6] In 2017, she gained further praise for her work on the biographical musical drama film The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, which garnered her a nomination for Excellence in Period Film with the Costume Designers Guild. [7] In 2023, Mirojnick received acclaim for her costume design in Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller film Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr., for which Mirojnick received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design. [8]

Sharon Stone has praised her experience with Mirojnick on Basic Instinct:

“I don’t think I had any idea, really, that I could look so great. Then I was like, "‘Oh, I could look like that all the time. Maybe I should get with it.’" Ellen really taught me how to feel empowered like the character I was playing.” [9]

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1978 French Quarter Dennis Kane
1980 Fame Alan Parker Assistant costume designer
1981 Endless Love Franco Zeffirelli Assistant to costume designer
1984 Reckless James Foley Also makes a cameo as Physics Teacher
The Flamingo Kid Garry Marshall
1986 Nobody's Fool Evelyn Purcell
1987 Fatal Attraction Adrian Lyne
Wall Street Oliver Stone
1988 Cocktail Roger Donaldson
Talk Radio Oliver Stone
1989 Black Rain Ridley Scott
Always Steven Spielberg
1990 Jacob's Ladder Adrian Lyne
1991 Switch Blake Edwards
Mobsters Michael Karbelnikoff
1992 Basic Instinct Paul Verhoeven
Chaplin Richard Attenborough with John Mollo
1993 Cliffhanger Renny Harlin
1994 Intersection Mark Rydell
Speed Jan de Bont
Exit to Eden Garry Marshall
1995 Strange Days Kathryn Bigelow
Showgirls Paul Verhoeven
1996 Mulholland Falls Lee Tamahori
Twister Jan de Bont
The Ghost and the Darkness Stephen Hopkins
1997 Face/Off John Woo
Starship Troopers Paul Verhoeven
1998 A Perfect Murder Andrew Davis
1999 The Haunting Jan de Bont
Mickey Blue Eyes Kelly Makin
2000 Hollow Man Paul Verhoeven
What Women Want Nancy Meyers
2001 One Night at McCool's Harald Zwart
America's Sweethearts Joe Roth
Rat Race Jerry Zucker
Don't Say a Word Gary Fleder
2002 Unfaithful Adrian Lyne
2003 It Runs in the Family Fred Schepisi
2004 Twisted Philip Kaufman
The Chronicles of Riddick David Twohy
2006 Failure to Launch Tom Dey
The Sentinel Clark Johnson
Déjà Vu Tony Scott
2007 King of California Mike Cahill
2008 Cloverfield Matt Reeves
Mirrors Alexandre Aja
2009 G-Force Hoyt Yeatman
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Stephen Sommers
Solitary Man Brian Koppelman
David Levien
Mirojnick only designed costumes for Michael Douglas
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone
Killers Robert Luketic Mirojnick only designed costumes for Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl
2013 Odd Thomas Stephen SommersCostume consultant
2014 Need for Speed Scott Waugh
And So It Goes Rob Reiner
Beyond the Reach Jean-Baptiste LéonettiCostume consultant
2015 By the Sea Angelina Jolie
2017 Logan Lucky Steven Soderbergh
First They Killed My Father Angelina Jolie
The Greatest Showman Michael Gracey
2018 The Girl in the Spider's Web Fede Álvarez Mirojnick only designed costumes for Claire Foy
2019 The Laundromat Steven Soderbergh
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Joachim Rønning
2020 Let Them All Talk Steven Soderbergh
2021 Cinderella Kay Cannon
2022 Kimi Steven Soderbergh
2023 Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan
2025 The Gorge Scott Derrickson
Black Bag Steven Soderbergh
2026 The Odyssey Christopher NolanPost-production
Key
Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Television

YearTitleNotes
1982 Fame Episode: "Metamorphosis"
1997 The Wonderful World of Disney Episode: "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella"
2011 Person of Interest Episode: "Ghosts"
2012 GCB Episode: "Pilot"
2013 Behind the Candelabra Television film
2014–2015 The Knick 20 episodes
2014 How to Get Away with Murder Episode: "Pilot"
2020 Bridgerton 8 episodes

Awards and nominations

Major associations

Academy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2024 Best Costume Design Oppenheimer Nominated

BAFTA Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
British Academy Film Awards
1993 Best Costume Design Chaplin Nominated
2014 Behind the Candelabra Nominated
2024 Oppenheimer Nominated

Emmy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
Primetime Emmy Awards
1998 Outstanding Costumes for a Variety Program or Special Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella Nominated
2013 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special Behind the Candelabra Won
2023 Outstanding Period Costumes Bridgerton (Episode: "Diamond of the First Water")Nominated
Miscellaneous awards
List of Ellen Mirojnick other awards and nominations
AwardYear [a] CategoryTitleResultRef.
Costume Designers Guild Awards 2003 Excellence in Contemporary Film Unfaithful Nominated
2011 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Nominated
2014 Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries Behind the Candelabra Won
2015 Excellence in Period/Fantasy Television The Knick Nominated
2016 Excellence in Period Television Won
Career Achievement Award N/aHonored
2018 Excellence in Period Film The Greatest Showman Nominated
2020 Excellence in Contemporary Film The Laundromat Nominated
Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Won
2021 Excellence in Period Television Bridgerton (Episode: "Diamond of the First Water")Nominated
2024 Excellence in Period Film Oppenheimer Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2023Best Costume DesignNominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2024 Best Costume DesignNominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2023 Best Costume DesignNominated
Satellite Awards 2024 Best Costume Design Nominated
Saturn Awards 1998 Best Costume Design Starship Troopers Won
2018 The Greatest Showman Nominated
2024 Oppenheimer Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2023 Best Costume DesignNominated

Notes

  1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. Times, Los Angeles (19 November 2015). "Costume Designers Guild to honor Quentin Tarantino and Ellen Mirojnick". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  2. Lord Christopher Laverty (2010-04-23). "Ellen Mirojnick Explains the Role of Costume Designer". Clothesonfilm.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  3. Valli Herman (February 2016). "Spotlight On: Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick". Costumedesignersguild.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  4. Adam Tschorn (2015-11-19). "Costume Designers Guild to honor Quentin Tarantino and Ellen Mirojnick". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  5. "Ellen Mirojnick | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  6. Valli Herman (February 2016). "Spotlight On: Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick". Costumedesignersguild.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  7. Stone, Sasha (2018-01-10). "Costume Designers Guild Announces Nominees". Awards Daily . Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  8. "'Oppenheimer' Costume Designer Looks Back on Her Career Working On Classics Like 'Fatal Attraction,' 'Showgirls'". TheWrap . 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. Julie Miller (2018-03-28). "Sharon Stone's Next Act: Straight-Shooting Spirit Guide". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2018-05-18.