Anthea Sylbert (October 6, 1939 – June 18, 2024) was an American film producer and costume designer, who was active during the "modern era" of American film. She was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, first at the 47th Academy Awards for Chinatown (1974), and then at the 50th Academy Awards for her work on Julia (1977). In addition, she had more than ten credits as producer or executive producer, including for such works as CrissCross (1991) and the television film Truman (1995), the latter of which earned Sylbert an Emmy. At the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in 2005, Sylbert was an honoree, receiving the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.
This section needs expansion with: any facts from the ample, well-sourced biographical descriptions of A. Sylbert's life that are available in books and journal articles. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020)
Anthea Sylbert was born Anthea Giannakouros in Brooklyn, New York,[1] on October 6, 1939,[3] to parents Nick and Georgia Giannakouros and lived in what has been described as a "close-knit Greek family".[1] She had one brother, Thomas. Keenly interested in artistic activities as a child, she is reported to have learned to sew from a grandmother.[1] Giannakouros studied art at Barnard College.[1]
This section needs expansion with: sourced facts as noted, especially focusing on the costume design (early phase) of her career, followed by the production and managerial (later phases). You can help by adding to it. (February 2020)
Following her long period of costume design work, Sylbert took on executive production management roles at the vice president level, first at Warner Borothers, then at United Artists, where she was known, in particular, for her skills at conflict resolution when filmmakers were at odds with the studios.[when?][1] After this period, she began a deep partnership with Goldie Hawn, beginning with the film Private Benjamin (1980).[1] Ultimately, the two of them created the Hawn/Sylvebert Movie Company,[when?] which produced a number of films, including Protocol (1984) and Something to Talk About (1995).[1]
This section needs expansion with: any facts from the ample, well-sourced book or journal descriptions of A. Sylbert's role in the making of this film. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020)
Sylbert worked with Chinatown (1974) from its early days after her brother-in-law Richard Sylbert introduced and recommended her to director Roman Polanski.[5][page needed] Sylbert was affectionately known in that close-working, small group of accomplished filmmakers as Ant for her penchant for "stringently straight" dark skirts and black turtlenecks.[5][page needed] Sylbert was known to be "utterly unafraid to speak truth, no matter how ugly, to anyone, no matter how powerful".[5][page needed] Her work was described as breaking with the past in its aim at being "not for beauty or for chic” but rather "to amplify character".[5][page needed] Sylbert was nominated for the 1975 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film.[6]
This section needs expansion with: book or journal descriptions of Sylbert's role in the making of this film. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020)
Sylbert was nominated for the 1978 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film Julia (1977).[7]
In addition to the 1975 and 1978 Academy Award nominations for best costume design,[6][7] Sylbert won an Emmy for her production of Truman (1995).[1] In 1999, Sylbert and Richard Romanus were nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America for the Christmas film If You Believe.[4] Sylbert was an honoree at the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (in 2005), where she received the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.[8]
Sylbert was married to actor and writer Richard Romanus from August 1985 until his death in December 2023.[4] In 2004, Sylbert and Romanus moved to the Greek island of Skiathos.[9] Sylbert died in Skiathos on June 18, 2024, at the age of 84.[10]
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