---
name: "Kay Nelson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kay-nelson"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "14 September 1909"
died: "1 September 2003"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T01:56:51.884501+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."
---

# Kay Nelson

Costume designer. Born 14 September 1909 in USA. Died 1 September 2003.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 14 September 1909, USA
- **Died:** 1 September 2003
- **Active:** 1947–1949
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 75 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 1, Family 1, Mystery 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $16m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nelson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6380255, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625513/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1352668

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Miracle on 34th Street*](https://film.one/film/miracle-on-34th-street.md) (85)

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

## Biography

Kay Nelson was an American costume designer who worked primarily at 20th Century Fox. Her credits include *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), *Miracle on 34th Street* (1947), *Gentleman's Agreement* (1947), *Call Northside 777* (1948), *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949) and *Mother Is a Freshman* (1949). She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design (Colour) for the last of these.

Nelson began her credited work in 1944 on *Up in Mabel's Room* and continued until 1961, with her final film *The Mark*. She often worked under wardrobe director Charles LeMaire and was married to art director Lyle Wheeler.

*Sources: imdb.com, wikimili.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), Fi1m 79, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/a-letter-to-three-wives.md)
- *Gentleman's Agreement* (1947), Fi1m 64, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemans-agreement.md)
- *Miracle on 34th Street* (1947), Fi1m 85, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/miracle-on-34th-street.md)

## Complete filmography (39)

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

- *The Mark* (1961), Costume Design
- *Tall Story* (1960), Costume Design
- *Daddy Long Legs* (1955), Costume Design
- *Violent Saturday* (1955), Costume Design
- *The Racers* (1955), Costume Design
- *Blowing Wild* (1953), Wardrobe Supervisor
- *A Lion Is in the Streets* (1953), Wardrobe Designer
- *Everybody Does It* (1949), Costume Design
- *Father Was a Fullback* (1949), Costume Design
- *Thieves' Highway* (1949), Costume Design
- *Slattery's Hurricane* (1949), Costume Design
- *Come to the Stable* (1949), Costume Designer
- *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), Costume Design — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/a-letter-to-three-wives.md)
- *The Walls of Jericho* (1948), Costume Design
- *Apartment for Peggy* (1948), Costume Design
- *Road House* (1948), Costume Design
- *Hollow Triumph* (1948), Wardrobe Designer
- *The Street with No Name* (1948), Costume Design
- *Sitting Pretty* (1948), Costume Design
- *Call Northside 777* (1948), Costume Design
- *You Were Meant for Me* (1948), Costume Design
- *Gentleman's Agreement* (1947), Costume Design — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemans-agreement.md)
- *The Crimson Key* (1947), Costume Design
- *Miracle on 34th Street* (1947), Costume Design — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/miracle-on-34th-street.md)
- *The Homestretch* (1947), Costume Design
- *Margie* (1946), Costume Design
- *Home Sweet Homicide* (1946), Costume Design
- *Somewhere in the Night* (1946), Costume Design
- *Do You Love Me* (1946), Costume Design
- *The Dark Corner* (1946), Costume Design
- *Behind Green Lights* (1946), Costume Design
- *Shock* (1946), Costume Design
- *Colonel Effingham's Raid* (1946), Costume Design
- *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), Costume Design
- *Within These Walls* (1945), Costume Design
- *Diamond Horseshoe* (1945), Costume Design
- *Hangover Square* (1945), Costume Design
- *Winged Victory* (1944), Costume Design
- *Up in Mabel's Room* (1944), Costume Design

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1950: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *Mother Is a Freshman*

*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/kay-nelson