Paul Tazewell (born September 15, 1964 in Akron, Ohio) is an acclaimed American costume designer whose visionary work spans Broadway, film, television, opera, and dance. After earning a BFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Tazewell made his Broadway debut in 1996 with Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk and quickly became one of the most respected designers in American theater. Over the next three decades, his inventive and character‑driven designs helped define a generation of musicals, earning him multiple honors and nine Tony Award nominations for shows including The Color Purple (2005), In the Heights (2008), Memphis (2010), A Streetcar Named Desire (2012), Ain’t Too Proud (2019), MJ (2022), and Suffs (2024). He won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Hamilton in 2016 and again for Death Becomes Her in 2025, solidifying his reputation as a leading force in Broadway costuming.

Tazewell’s transition into film and television has been equally impactful. He contributed his first feature film costumes to Harriet (2019), followed by Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design as the first African American male nominee in the category. His work reached new heights with Jon M. Chu’s Wicked (2024), for which he designed over 1,000 costumes and became the *first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 97th Academy Awards — a historic achievement complemented by a BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, and Costume Designers Guild Award for the same project. He continued this success into 2026 by winning the Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Film for Wicked: For Good, the sequel.

On television, Tazewell’s standout credits include NBC’s live musicals The Wiz Live! (2015), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018), and HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). Across mediums, his work is celebrated for its narrative richness, cultural resonance, and meticulous craftsmanship. Tazewell’s contributions to the art of costume design continue to influence audiences and creators alike, with exhibitions such as Crafting Character: The Costumes of Paul Tazewell showcasing his legacy into 2026 and beyond.