Best Costume Design Oscar nomination for UCD graduate

Posted January 27, 2017

Dubliner Consolata Boyle has been (opens in a new window)nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Florence Foster Jenkins. The 2016 film stars Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.

Also nominated in the category are Mary Zophres (La La Land), Madeline Fontaine (Jackie), Joanna Johnston (Allied), and Colleen Atwood (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).

Boyle graduated from University College Dublin with a degree in archaeology and history. She was an active member of (opens in a new window)UCD Dramsoc.

After graduating from UCD, Boyle studied costume design at the (opens in a new window)Abbey Theatre in Dublin. She then completed a postgraduate diploma in textiles at West Surrey College of Art and Design.

Florence Foster Jenkins is titled after an American opera singer who sang in New York City for three decades from the 1920s. She is known for her lack of singing ability and as one of the worst performers to play at Carnegie Hall.

Boyle was nominated for an Oscar in the category for her work in 2006 film The Queen. She also received a (opens in a new window)British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nod and won an (opens in a new window)Irish Film and Television Academy and Awards (IFTA) for Best Costume Design.

She received an (opens in a new window)Emmy Award for her costume design on the 2003 film The Lion in Winter.

Homepage image credit: Craig Piersma

Her other credits include The Iron Lady, Angela’s Ashes, Into the West and The Snapper. She is the costume designer for the upcoming Victoria and Abdul, starring Dame Judi Dench.

In 2012, her costumes were included in the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The 89th Academy Awards takes place on February 26th. For most categories, nominees are chosen by Academy members in the same field – actors nominate actors, editors nominated editors etc. Best Picture nominations are decided by all members. The award statuettes are called Oscars.

By: Jonny Baxter, digital journalist, UCD University Relations