---
name: "Ruth Morley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ruth-morley"
fi1m_id: "ruth-morley"
imdb_id: "nm0605926"
tmdb_id: 1051
wikidata_id: "Q1423839"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "19 November 1925"
died: "12 February 1991"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 10
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_over: 10
updated: "2026-10-04T21:00:32.285200+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."
---

# Ruth Morley

## Identity

Ruth Morley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ruth-morley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ruth-morley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0605926
- **TMDB ID:** 1051
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1423839
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Morley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1423839, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605926/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1051

Costume designer. Born 19 November 1925 in Vienna, Austria. Died 12 February 1991.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 19 November 1925, Vienna, Austria
- **Died:** 12 February 1991
- **Active:** 1961–1991
- **Frequently works with:** [Dustin Hoffman](https://film.one/person/dustin-hoffman.md), [Jason Robards](https://film.one/person/jason-robards.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 82 (2), 1970s 87 (3), 1980s 72 (3), 1990s 72 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 79 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 7, Romance 7, Comedy 5, Crime 1, Fantasy 1, Sport 1
- **Screen time:** 19 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,185m across 9 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Morley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1423839, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605926/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1051

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Tootsie*](https://film.one/film/tootsie.md) (85), [*Ghost*](https://film.one/film/ghost.md) (80)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Annie Hall*](https://film.one/film/annie-hall.md) (86)
- **Netflix:** [*Parenthood*](https://film.one/film/parenthood.md) (78)

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

## Biography

Ruth Morley was an Austrian-born American costume designer. Born Ruth Miriam Birnholz on 19 November 1925 in Vienna, she fled Austria as a child on a Kindertransport and later settled in New York. She began her career in theatre and opera, working on Broadway productions from 1951, including *Billy Budd*, and serving as costume director for the New York City Opera.

Morley moved into film and television, designing costumes for *The Hustler* (1961), *The Miracle Worker* (1962), *Taxi Driver* (1976), *Annie Hall* (1977), *Kramer vs. Kramer* (1979), *Tootsie* (1982) and *Ghost* (1990). She received an Academy Award nomination for *The Miracle Worker* and a BAFTA nomination for *Tootsie*. She also designed for several stage and television productions starring Dustin Hoffman.

She died on 12 February 1991 in the Bronx, New York, aged 65. Morley was posthumously inducted into the Costume Designers Guild Hall of Fame in 2005.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com, ff2media.com.*

## On Fi1m (10)

- *The Prince of Tides* (1991), Fi1m 65, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-prince-of-tides.md)
- *Ghost* (1990), Fi1m 80, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/ghost.md)
- *Parenthood* (1989), Fi1m 78, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/parenthood.md)
- *The Money Pit* (1986), Fi1m 54, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-money-pit.md)
- *Tootsie* (1982), Fi1m 85, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/tootsie.md)
- *Kramer vs. Kramer* (1979), Fi1m 82, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/kramer-vs-kramer.md)
- *Annie Hall* (1977), Fi1m 86, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/annie-hall.md)
- *Taxi Driver* (1976), Fi1m 92, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/taxi-driver.md)
- *A Thousand Clowns* (1965), Fi1m 76, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/a-thousand-clowns.md)
- *The Hustler* (1961), Fi1m 88, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hustler.md)

## Complete filmography (42)

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

- *The Prince of Tides* (1991), Costume Design — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-prince-of-tides.md)
- *Ghost* (1990), Costume Design — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/ghost.md)
- *Parenthood* (1989), Costume Design — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/parenthood.md)
- *See No Evil, Hear No Evil* (1989), Costume Design
- *Winter People* (1989), Costume Design
- *Hello Again* (1987), Costume Design
- *The Money Pit* (1986), Costume Design — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-money-pit.md)
- *Death of a Salesman* (1985), Costume Design
- *Grace Quigley* (1985), Costume Design
- *The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck* (1984), Costume Design
- *Tootsie* (1982), Costume Design — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/tootsie.md)
- *Hammett* (1982), Costume Design
- *I Ought to Be in Pictures* (1982), Costume Design
- *One from the Heart* (1982), Costume Design
- *The Chosen* (1981), Costume Design
- *Playing for Time* (1980), Costume Design
- *Little Miss Marker* (1980), Costume Design
- *The Jilting of Granny Weatherall* (1980), Costume Design
- *Kramer vs. Kramer* (1979), Costume Design — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/kramer-vs-kramer.md)
- *Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure* (1979), Costume Design
- *The Miracle Worker* (1979), Costume Design
- *Superman* (1978), Costumer
- *The Brink's Job* (1978), Costume Design
- *Slow Dancing In The Big City* (1978), Costume Design
- *Annie Hall* (1977), Costume Design — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/annie-hall.md)
- *The Life and Assassination of the Kingfish* (1977), Costume Design
- *The Gardener's Son* (1977), Costume Design
- *The Front* (1976), Costume Design
- *Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys* (1976), Costume Design
- *Taxi Driver* (1976), Costume Design — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/taxi-driver.md)
- *Man on a Swing* (1974), Costume Design
- *Child's Play* (1972), Costume Design
- *The Hot Rock* (1972), Costume Design
- *To Find a Man* (1972), Costume Design
- *Diary of a Mad Housewife* (1970), Costume Design
- *The Brotherhood* (1968), Costume Design
- *A Thousand Clowns* (1965), Costume Design — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/a-thousand-clowns.md)
- *Lilith* (1964), Costume Designer
- *The Miracle Worker* (1962), Costume Design
- *The Hustler* (1961), Costume Design — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hustler.md)
- *The Young Doctors* (1961), Costume Design
- *Never Love a Stranger* (1958), Costume Design

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1963: Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (nominated), for *The Miracle Worker*

*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/ruth-morley