Paul Tazewell has been dominating this awards season, and now he can add one more accolade to his name – an Oscar. The costume designer bagged the coveted golden statue for Wicked, beating out fellow nominees Arianne Philips (A Complete Unknown), Lisy Christl (Conclave), Janty Yates and Dave Crossman (Gladiator II), and Linda Muir (Nosferatu).
Tazewell made history by being the first Black man ever to be given this honour by the Academy, etching his name in the history books (the first Black person to ever win the award was Ruth E. Carter for Black Panther in 2018). As the nominees were praised by the cast members of each film as part of the Academy’s Fab 5, Bowen Yang, who played Pfannee in Wicked, said, “To be costumed by the great Paul Tazewell is one of the biggest honours of my alleged career.”
For his acceptance speech, Tazewell expressed: “This is absolutely astounding. Thank you Academy for this very significant honour. I am the first Black man to receive the costume design award for my work on Wicked,” followed by loud cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd. “Thank you for trusting me to bring your characters to life. This is everything. Thank you,” he concluded.
Who is Paul Tazewell?
Born in 1964 in Akron, Ohio, Tazewell started his professional career in theatre, debuting with Cheryl West’s 1991 play Before it Hits Home. He earned his first prestigious Tony nomination a few years later with Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
ALSO READ
- Oscars 2025: 'Anora' wins Best Picture, Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win top acting honours
- Oscars 2025: Complete list of winners
- OPINION | Why 'Anora' winning Best Picture makes more sense
- Halle Berry recreates infamous 2003 Oscars kiss with Adrien Brody: ‘I had to pay him back’
- From Ariana Grande to Andrew Garfield, here are the best-dressed celebs at the Oscars 2025
- Mikey Madison to Whoopi Goldberg, worst dressed celebs at Oscars 2025
Since then, Tazewell has steadily risen to the top, working in Broadway productions such as The Colour Purple, In the Heights, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Hamilton. In 2022, he bagged his first Academy Award nomination for his work on Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Tazewell was also the costume designer for the 2019 biographical film Harriet.
At 60 years old, he now joins the ranks of stars who are just one award from gaining EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), having won one Primetime Emmy Award for The Wiz Live! In 2018, and a Tony Award for Hamilton in 2016. He is joined by Kate Winslet, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dick van Dyke, and Martin Scorsese among others, who are just one award shy of an EGOT.
