Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan has said she is considering retiring from the profession.
The designer, who is the wardrobe creator for Disney’s Cruella, said despite her successful career she now gets “really anxious about getting it right”.
She has been nominated for ten Academy Awards for best costume design and won two – in 1987 for A Room With A View and in 2016 for Mad Max: Fury Road.
Beavan was made an OBE in 2017 for services to drama production.
She made the comments in an interview with US news outlet Deadline, during which she discussed her career and the making of Cruella, which came out in 2021.
“I’m considering whether I really want to go on with this job because I get more anxious as I get older and more experienced. I don’t find it easier,” she said.
“I find I get really anxious about whether I’m getting it right and I’m not entirely sure I want to spend the last few years of my life being anxious.
Beavan said she had enjoyed a talk she had given at Liverpool University that had nothing to do with her work, and recent work with her daughter, who is a teacher.
“I just think there’s something else maybe out there that I can do that’s different,” she said.
“It’s not easy, it’s a very tough profession and it’s fine when you’re young and you can bounce off things.
“But I don’t bounce as much now, both mentally and physically.”
“It is extraordinarily long hours and quite exhausting and it’s really quite hard to balance any kind of family life against it, which is fine because it is a wonderful career and I have met lovely people and made really good friends.”
Cruella, which was released on Disney+ earlier this year and stars Emma Stone, has already been tipped for several awards, including for best costume.
Beavan said it had been a “total joy” to work with Stone, who had “thoroughly enjoyed” the costume fitting process for the film.
In August it was announced that the star would return for a Cruella sequel.
Cruella was recently shortlisted for best makeup and hairstyling at the 94th Oscars ceremony, with more categories to be announced.
