Mary Wills

Oscar-winning costume designer Mary Lillian Wills studied at universities in New Mexico and Arizona before graduating with an M.A. from the Yale School of Drama. She worked in Hollywood for forty years, mostly free-lancing, except for a spell between 1948 and 1952, when she was under contract at RKO (for Samuel Goldwyn). She became known as 'the fabulous Miss Wills' for her excellence in creating authentic-looking period, dance and folk costumes for prestige films like Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and The Virgin Queen (1955). Her intricate pencil sketches often included subtle backgrounds, which provided a measure of additional context. Wills won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). In addition to her film work, she also designed for ice revues and Wild West shows.