---
name: "Irene Sharaff"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/irene-sharaff"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "23 January 1910"
died: "10 August 1993"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T02:07:52.986507+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Irene Sharaff

Costume designer. Born 23 January 1910 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Died 10 August 1993.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 23 January 1910, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 10 August 1993
- **Active:** 1946–1963
- **Also known as:** Sharaff
- **Frequently works with:** [Robert E. Sherwood](https://film.one/person/robert-e-sherwood.md), [Samuel Goldwyn](https://film.one/person/samuel-goldwyn.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 5 Oscars (5 won · 9 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 82 (2), 1950s 76 (1), 1960s 60 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 73 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Romance 4, Drama 3, Comedy 2, Fantasy 1, History 1, Music 1
- **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $88m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Sharaff, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q450022, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788695/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13574

## Streaming the US now

- **Pluto TV:** [*The Best Years of Our Lives*](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md) (90), [*The Bishop's Wife*](https://film.one/film/the-bishops-wife.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com, ew.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Cleopatra* (1963), Fi1m 60, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/cleopatra.md)
- *An American in Paris* (1951), Fi1m 76, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/an-american-in-paris.md)
- *The Bishop's Wife* (1947), Fi1m 74, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bishops-wife.md)
- *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), Fi1m 90, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Paris Opera Ballet: Tribute to Jerome Robbins 2* (2018), Costume Design
- *Alice in Wonderland* (1983), Costume Design
- *Mommie Dearest* (1981), Costume Design
- *The Great White Hope* (1970), Costume Design
- *Something for Everyone* (1970), Costume Design
- *Hello, Dolly!* (1969), Costume Design
- *Justine* (1969), Costume Design
- *Funny Girl* (1968), Costume Design
- *A Happening in Central Park* (1968), Costume Design
- *The Taming of the Shrew* (1967), Costume Designer
- *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966), Costume Design
- *The Sandpiper* (1965), Costume Design
- *Cleopatra* (1963), Costume Design — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/cleopatra.md)
- *West Side Story* (1961), Costume Design
- *Flower Drum Song* (1961), Costume Design
- *Can-Can* (1960), Costume Design
- *Porgy and Bess* (1959), Costume Design
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, Costume Design
- *The King and I* (1956), Costume Design
- *Guys and Dolls* (1955), Costume Design
- *A Star Is Born* (1954), as Art Direction · Costume Design
- *Brigadoon* (1954), Costume Design
- *Call Me Madam* (1953), Costume Design
- *An American in Paris* (1951), Costume Design — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/an-american-in-paris.md)
- *Every Girl Should Be Married* (1948), Costume Design
- *A Song Is Born* (1948), Costume Design
- *The Bishop's Wife* (1947), Costume Design — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bishops-wife.md)
- *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty* (1947), Costume Design
- *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), Costume Design — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md)
- *The Dark Mirror* (1946), Costume Design
- *Yolanda and the Thief* (1945), Costume Design
- *Ziegfeld Follies* (1945), Costume Design
- *Meet Me in St. Louis* (1944), Costume Design
- *Bathing Beauty* (1944), Costume Designer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 5 won, 9 nominated

- 1978: Best Costume Design (nominated), for *The Other Side of Midnight*
- 1970: Best Costume Design (nominated), for *Hello, Dolly!*
- 1968: Best Costume Design (nominated), for *The Taming of the Shrew*
- 1967: Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (won), for *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*
- 1964: Best Costume Design, Color (won), for *Cleopatra*
- 1962: Best Costume Design, Color (won), for *West Side Story*
- 1961: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *Can-Can*
- 1960: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *Porgy and Bess*
- 1957: Best Costume Design, Color (won), for *The King and I*
- 1956: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *Guys and Dolls*
- 1955: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *A Star Is Born*
- 1955: Best Art Direction, Color (nominated), for *A Star Is Born*
- 1954: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *Call Me Madam*
- 1952: Best Costume Design, Color (won), for *An American in Paris*

### Other awards — 1 won, 6 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1968: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1966: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1964: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1959: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1958: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1957: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1952: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/irene-sharaff