Aaliyah (16 January 1979–25 August 2001), singer, actress, and model, was born Aaliyah Dana Haughton to Michael Haughton, a warehouse worker, and Diane Haughton in Brooklyn, New York. For this second child, the Haughtons chose an Arabic first name that meant “the highest, most exalted one, the best.”...
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Aaliyah (16 January 1979–25 August 2001), singer, actress, and model
Margena A. Christian
Article
Alexander, John White (1856-1915), artist
Martin R. Kalfatovic
Alexander, John White (07 October 1856–31 May 1915), artist, was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, the son of John Alexander and Fanny Smith. Alexander’s father died soon after his birth, and his mother died when he was five years old. Sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Alexander left school at the age of twelve to work as a messenger for the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh. Colonel Edward Jay Allen, an official of the firm, was impressed by a sketch done by Alexander. Allen eventually adopted Alexander....
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Aronson, Boris (1900-1980), scene and costume designer
Cary Clasz
Aronson, Boris ( October 1900–16 November 1980), scene and costume designer, was born in Kiev, Russia, the son of Solomon Aronson, the chief rabbi of Kiev, and Deborah Turfsky. By the age of eight he was exhibiting astonishing artistic talent and went on to study art in Kiev, Moscow, and Paris....
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Bernstein, Aline Frankau (1880-1955), set and costume designer and author
Kathleen M. Robbins
Bernstein, Aline Frankau (22 December 1880–07 September 1955), set and costume designer and author, was born in New York City, the daughter of Joseph Frankau, an actor, and Rebecca Goldsmith. Joseph Frankau, who was of German-Jewish ancestry, first named his daughter Hazel, but her mother changed it to Aline. Educated in the New York public schools and raised in the theater, as a child Aline wanted to be an actress, but her father encouraged her talent for drawing instead. After the early deaths of her parents (both had died by 1897), Aline became the ward of her aunt, Rachel, a drug addict. She attended Hunter College as a student of fine art. Tom Watson, a family friend and a member of the board of directors of the New York School of Applied Design, arranged for her to study drawing on scholarship at the school. She later studied portrait painting with ...
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Fawcett, Farrah (2 February 1947–26 June 2009), model and actress
Bruce J. Evensen
Fawcett, Farrah (2 February 1947–26 June 2009), model and actress, was born Mary Ferrah Leni Fawcett, the second daughter of oil industry pipefitter James William Fawcett and Pauline Alice Evans Fawcett in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Fawcett attended Christ the King, the parish school of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Corpus Christi. She had a French, English, and Choctaw Native American ancestry, and when she graduated W. B. Ray High School in ...
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Gernreich, Rudi (8 Aug. 1922–21 Apr. 1985), fashion designer, dancer, and theater costumer
Daniel Delis Hill
Gernreich, Rudi (8 Aug. 1922–21 Apr. 1985), fashion designer, dancer, and theater costumer was born in Vienna, Austria. His father, Siegmund Gernreich, was a manager in a hosiery manufacturing company, and his mother, Elisabeth (Lisl) Müller, was an intellectual and cofounder of the Vienna Ethics Society. In ...
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Head, Edith (1897-1981), Hollywood costume designer
Sandra L. Clements
Head, Edith (28 October 1897–24 October 1981), Hollywood costume designer, was born Edith Claire Posener in San Bernardino, California, the daughter of Max Posener, a mining engineer, and Anna Levy. During her long life, Head was curiously quiet about her parents, their divorce early in her life, and her stepfather. Even in her autobiography she did not illuminate her formative years; indeed, the index of ...
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Mainbocher (24 Oct. 1890–27 Dec. 1976), couturier, theater costumer, and magazine editor
Daniel Delis Hill
Mainbocher (24 Oct. 1890–27 Dec. 1976), couturier, theater costumer, and magazine editor, was born Main Rousseau Bocher in Chicago, Illinois. His father, George Bocher, was a dry goods salesman, and his mother, Luella Main Bocher, was a homemaker who occasionally taught china decoration from home. In grade school Bocher pursued dual interests in the arts. His mother encouraged his artwork and his father supported the boy’s music training....
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Nikolais, Alwin (1910-1993), choreographer, designer, and composer
Ted Bain
Nikolais, Alwin (25 November 1910–08 May 1993), choreographer, designer, and composer, was born in Southington, Connecticut, the son of John Nikolais and Martha Heinrich. From an early age he studied music. During his high school years he was an organ accompanist for silent films at the Westport Movie House. In 1929 he graduated from Lewis High School in Southington....
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Norell, Norman (20 Apr. 1900–25 Oct. 1972), fashion designer and theater and movie costumer
Daniel Delis Hill
Norell, Norman (20 Apr. 1900–25 Oct. 1972), fashion designer and theater and movie costumer, was born Norman David Levinson in Noblesville, Indiana. His father, Harry Levinson, owned a men’s hat shop in Indianapolis, and his mother, Nettie, was a homemaker. After high school, Norman moved to New York where he first studied illustration at Parsons School of Design, but then changed to fashion design at Pratt Institute. At this time, he changed his last name to Norell—“Nor for Norman, L for Levinson, and another L for the look,” he later said in an interview....
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Orry-Kelly (1897-1964), costume designer
Bobbi Owen
Orry-Kelly (31 December 1897–26 February 1964), costume designer, was born Orry George Kelly in Kiama, New South Wales, Australia, the son of William George Kelly, a tailor, and Florence Evalean Purdue. After studying art in Australia and working briefly as a banker, Orry-Kelly immigrated to New York City in 1923, hoping to become an actor. In the mid-1920s he waited tables and worked as a clerk, acting only on occasion. He did, however, find work painting for scenic studios, decorating apartments, and designing silent film titles. It was in New York that he received his entrée into the career—as a costume designer—that would dominate his professional life. In the late 1920s he began designing costumes, and occasionally scenery, for Broadway productions, including ...
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Scaasi, Arnold (8 May 1930–3 Aug. 2015), fashion designer, theater and movie costumer
Daniel Delis Hill
Scaasi, Arnold (8 May 1930–3 Aug. 2015), fashion designer, theater and movie costumer, was born Arnold Isaacs in Montreal, Canada. His father, Samuel Isaacs, was a furrier, and his mother, Bessie, was a homemaker. His sister Isobel was fifteen years older than Arnold, and his brother Monty was fourteen years older. Arnold did not finish high school, but instead, in ...
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Sharaff, Irene (1910?–16 August 1993), costume designer
Bobbi Owen
Sharaff, Irene (1910?–16 August 1993), costume designer, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Nothing is known of her parents. She graduated from Wadley High School in New York City. Originally planning to be a painter, she studied at the Art Students League (now the Parsons School of Design), the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, and in Paris. While taking art classes in New York in 1928 she met ...
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Smith, Anna Nicole (28 November 1967–6 February 2007), model, television personality, and celebrity
Brian Donovan
Smith, Anna Nicole (28 November 1967–6 February 2007), model, television personality, and celebrity, was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston, Texas, to Donald Hogan and Virgie Mae Hogan. By many accounts, her childhood was difficult. She grew up in Mexia, Texas, with her aunt under impoverished conditions; once she allegedly stole toilet paper from a restaurant because her aunt could not afford any. As a teenager, Hogan dropped out of high school, took a job at a fried chicken restaurant, and, in ...
