Biography
Irene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, the Art Students League and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. She began her career in New York theatre and ballet before moving into film design in the 1940s.
Sharaff received five Academy Awards for costume design, including for An American in Paris (1951), The King and I (1956), West Side Story (1961), Cleopatra (1963) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). She also won a Tony Award and was nominated for several others. Her credits include Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Funny Girl (1968) and Hello, Dolly! (1969). She frequently designed for both stage and screen versions of the same productions.
