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Rita McGhee
Born (1964-08-22) August 22, 1964 (age 60)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHoward University
OccupationCostume designer
Years active1990-present
Websiteritamcghee.net

Rita McGhee (born August 22, 1964)[1][2] is an American costume designer for film and television.[3] Her career has included projects spanning various fashion eras.[4] She is known for her work on season 1 of FOX's musical drama series Empire.[4][5] In July 2015, McGhee's costume design on episode 8, "The Lyon's Roar", was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series, or Movie.[3] The following year, in January 2016, her costume design for the season was nominated for the Costume Designers Guild Award for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Television Series.[6]

In addition, McGhee has led and/or contributed costume design for projects such as Spike Lee's musical drama film Chi-Raq (2015), BET's miniseries The New Edition Story (2017), Disney's musical film Zombies (2018), and BET's miniseries American Soul (2019).[7][8][9][10]

Early life and education

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McGhee was born in San Francisco, California to Troy and Claudette McGhee.[11][12] In 1968, her family relocated to Santa Rita, Guam when her father accepted a civil service position on the island.[1][11] She has four siblings.[1][13]

McGhee graduated from George Washington High School in Mangilao, Guam in 1982[3] and attended Howard University,[14] studying fashion merchandising and business administration.[14] She also took classes in costume design while working in the school theater,[15] and graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science.[16]

Career

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After McGhee heard Spike Lee lecture at her college, she sent her resume to costume designer, Ruth E. Carter who was working with Lee's production company,[5][8] and was hired by Carter as an intern and wardrobe production assistant.[17] She then moved to Los Angeles, California and worked on Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) among others.[15][4][18] McGhee also worked in the costume and wardrobe departments for In Living Color (1991-1992), Moesha (1996), and Baby Boy (2001).[4][19][18]

After becoming a costume designer, McGhee worked on Reggie Rock Bythewood's Biker Boyz (2003), Jeffrey W. Byrd's King's Ransom (2005), and Benny Boom's Next Day Air (2009).[20][18] She then took a break from Hollywood and relocated to Friendswood, Texas.[21]

McGhee later interviewed for the costume designer position for Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's television series Empire.[3] She accepted the job offer and relocated to Chicago, Illinois for filming.[21] In March 2015, her costume design for Empire was referred to as the "hip-hop royalty look" by the Los Angeles Times.[22] In July 2015, her work on the season 1 episode, "The Lyon's Roar", was nominated for an Emmy.[3] The episode featured a "White Party" scene where the cast dressed in all white clothing.[3] McGhee and her team launched Cookie's Closet, a website page featuring styles worn by Empire actress, Taraji P. Henson.[23] In September 2015, Saks Fifth Avenue launched a curated fashion collection inspired by the show.[23]

McGhee did not return for season 2 of Empire.[24] She worked on the film Chi-Raq with Ruth E. Carter as lead costume designer.[3] McGhee later provided costume design for The New Edition Story with clothing choices described as a "virtuosic symphony" by The New York Times.[25] She continued to work on projects including Lifetime's Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland (2017) and ABC's The Mayor (2017).[26][18]

McGhee is a member of the Black Design Collective, a non-profit organization for African-American fashion designers and costume designers.[27] She is also a member of the Costume Designers Guild.[28]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Refs[29][30][31]
1990 Mo' Better Blues Production assistant [15]
1991 Jungle Fever Wardrobe assistant [4]
1991 The Five Heartbeats Assistant costumer [15]
1993 What's Love Got to Do With It On set costumer [18]
1993 Fear of a Black Hat Costume design [32][33]
2001 Baby Boy Wardrobe supervisor [18]
2002 Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs Costume designer [34]
2003 Biker Boyz Costume designer [20]
2004 Woman Thou Art Loosed Costumes [35]
2005 King's Ransom Costume designer [36]
2007 All About Us Costume designer Press
2009 Next Day Air Costume designer [37]
2009 My Brother's Keeper Costume designer Press
2015 Chi-Raq Assistant costume designer [3]
2017 Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland Costume designer [26]
2018 Zombies Costume designer [38]
2018 Life-Size 2 Costumes Press

Television

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Year Title Crew role Refs[29][31]
1991-1992 In Living Color Costume assistant [4]
1993-1994 Martin Costume supervisor Press
1996 Moesha Costumes [19]
1997 Between Brothers Costumes [39]
1997 Claude's Crib Costumes Press
1999 Grown Ups Costumes Press
2000 The Lyricist Lounge Show Costume designer Press
2003 Eve Costumes (pilot episode) Press
2005-2006 Cuts Costume designer [40][41]
2010 Fake It Til You Make It Costume designer [42]
2010 Love That Girl! Costume designer Press
2011 Reed Between the Lines Costume designer [43][21]
2012 Let's Stay Together Costume designer [44]
2012 Sunday Best Stylist [45]
2013 Second Generation Wayans Costume designer Press
2015 Empire Costume designer (season 1) [46]
2016 Zoe Ever After Costume designer [23]
2017 The New Edition Story Costume designer [47][25]
2017 The Mayor Costume designer [18]
2018 The Bobby Brown Story Costume designer [48]
2019 American Soul Costume designer [10]
2019 Loved to Death Costumes Press

References

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  1. ^ a b c "KUAM talks with costume designer Rita McGhee". YouTube. Kuam News. January 7, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  2. ^ "Rita McGhee". Instagram. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved April 23, 2019. I am a Black Girl that Rocks. 8.22. My Birthday. Time to Roar and Soar!!
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Martinez, Lacee A.C. (July 23, 2015). "Guam's Rita McGhee snags Emmy nomination for "Empire"". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wellington, Elizabeth (July 2, 2015). "Mirror, Mirror: The Costume Designer Behind Cookie and the Rest". South Florida Times. Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Crew Call: Rita McGhee - Television Academy". Emmys. November 24, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Medina, Marcy (January 7, 2016). "2016 Costume Designers Guild Nominations Unveiled". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Hutson, Darralynn (January 19, 2017). "Behind the scenes with BET's 'New Edition Story' costume designer Rita McGhee". Rolling Out. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Koss, Andrew (October 22, 2015). "Costume Designer Rita McGhee Visits SFUAD". Jackalope Magazine. Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  9. ^ BWW News Desk (February 20, 2018). "Premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie ZOMBIES Reaches 10.3 Million Viewers". Broadway World. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "American Soul Exclusive: Soul Style with the Costume Designers of American Soul". BET. March 14, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Bennington, Vicki (August 12, 2015). "Fashion event features Emmy-nominee — 'Empire's' Rita McGhee's designs develop characters". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "Girl from Guam Works On New Show 'Empire'". Newspapers.com. Pacific Daily News. January 2, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Rita McGhee". Instagram. March 18, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved April 23, 2019. Happy Birthday to my Brother Boy Troy.
  14. ^ a b McGhee, Rita (June 20, 2015). "Dressing Empire" (Interview). Interviewed by John Skalicky. The LA Fashion Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d Hello Beautiful Staff (May 10, 2016). "Costume Designer Rita McGhee Is Hollywood's Best Kept Secret For Fierce Fashion". Hello Beautiful. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  16. ^ Surratt, Brittany A.B. (Winter 2016). "Marchlena (Marci) Rodgers: Costume Designer". Howard Magazine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  17. ^ Smith, Celia L. (January 13, 2015). "'Empire' Costume Designer Dishes on Taraji's Style". Essence. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Hutson, Darralynn (October 5, 2017). "Inside 'The Mayor' Wardrobe Room". LA Sentinel. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Meet, Greet and Speak...with Rita McGhee!". All Events in City. Southern Illinois University Carbondale. 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Koehler, Robert (January 29, 2003). "Biker Boyz". Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Joy, Sewing (March 13, 2015). "Houstonians helped build this 'Empire'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  22. ^ Van Buskirk, Leslie (March 12, 2015). "'Empire' costume designer Rita McGhee gets the hip-hop royalty look". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  23. ^ a b c Ford, Tanisha C. (September 19, 2015). "From Cookie's Closet to Yours: It Could Be Fast, Affordable and Fabulous". The Root. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  24. ^ Tran, Khanh T.L. (September 15, 2015). "'Empire' Builders: Fashion Brands Tap Into Hit Show". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  25. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (January 23, 2017). "'The New Edition Story': A Loving Tribute to a Talented but Tormented Group". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Nodell, Andrew (May 23, 2017). "Michael Jackson Disguised Himself to Shop at Burlington Coat Factory". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  27. ^ Lockwood, Lisa (February 13, 2019). "Black Design Collective Established to Help Designers Navigate Industry". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  28. ^ "Member Directory". Costume Designers Guild. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  29. ^ a b "Costume Designer Rita McGhee" (PDF). GSK Talent. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Emmy Nominated Costume Designer, Rita McGhee of the hit FOX Series 'EMPIRE' is speaking at The Koffa Design Group in PASADENA, CA". pressreleasejet.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Rita McGhee Costume Designer". Staff Me Up. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  32. ^ "Fear of a Black Hat (1993) - Rusty Cundieff - Cast and Crew". AllMovie. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  33. ^ Levy, Emanuel (5 February 1993). "Fear of a Black Hat". variety.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  34. ^ Foundas, Scott (12 April 2002). "Book of Love". variety.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  35. ^ "'Woman' bears faithful witness to a preacher's role in a troubled life". 1 October 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via LA Times.
  36. ^ Chang, Justin (23 April 2005). "King's Ransom". variety.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  37. ^ Chang, Justin (7 May 2009). "Next Day Air". variety.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Disney's ZOMBIES Gets Even Livelier In L+7 Nielson Ratings, Digital Viewing, and Billboard Music Chart Rankings". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  39. ^ "In Case of Emergency". Between Brothers. Season 1. Episode 1.
  40. ^ "Switch Cutter". Cuts. Season 1. Episode 7.
  41. ^ "Adult Education". Cuts. Season 2. Episode 20.
  42. ^ "Episode 1". Fake It Til You Make It. Season 1. Episode 1.
  43. ^ "Inside Carla Reed's Closet With Tracee Ellis Ross". BET. Event occurs at 1:21. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2019. Our costume designer Rita comes with her looks and her ideas.
  44. ^ "Let's Do It Again". Let's Stay Together. Season 2. Episode 1. Event occurs at 20:45. BET. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  45. ^ Warton, Patricia (March 11, 2015). "'Sunday Best' Stylist Rita McGhee Hits A Fashion High Note With 'Empire'". EEW Magazine News. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  46. ^ Donahue, Anne T. (4 February 2015). ""Empire" Costume Designer Rita McGhee Explains Cookie's Fur and Lucious's Scarves". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  47. ^ Ball, Zuliesuivie (16 February 2017). "Meet the 'New Edition Story' Costume Designer, Rita McGhee". hypefresh.co. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  48. ^ "The Bobby Brown Story". kieladrianscott.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
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