Biography
Paul Tazewell is an American costume designer working in theatre, film, opera and television. Born in Akron, Ohio, he trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and New York University before beginning his career on Broadway.
He received the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Hamilton (2016) and won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Wicked (2024), becoming the first Black man to win in that category. He had previously been nominated for the Oscar for West Side Story (2021). Other notable film credits include Harriet (2019) and Disclosure Day (2026).
Tazewell also won a Primetime Emmy Award for The Wiz Live! (2016) and has designed for numerous Broadway productions, including The Color Purple, In the Heights and Ain't Too Proud.
