Catherine Martin

Catherine Martin Luhrmann (born 26 January 1965) is an Australian costume designer, production designer, set designer, and film producer, best known for her frequent collaborations with director Baz Luhrmann. She has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards, and a Tony Award. Martin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2025.

Martin came to international prominence for providing both the costumes and production design on Strictly Ballroom (1992), Luhrmann's feature directorial debut which later became the first installment of the "Red Curtain Trilogy". She won both the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and the Academy Award for Best Production Design for her work on Curtain's final chapter Moulin Rouge! (2001). Martin became just the second woman to win multiple Oscars in a single year (after Edith Head) and the first to accomplish this feat twice, winning the same two categories for The Great Gatsby (2013). She was also Oscar-nominated for Romeo + Juliet (1996), Australia (2008), and Elvis (2022). Having won four awards out of nine nominations, she holds the record for the most Oscar wins of any Australian.

Early life and education

Martin was born on January 26, 1965,

Martin attended North Sydney Girls High School and, while a student, got a part-time job as an usherette at the Roseville theatre.

Martin gained international acclaim when she entered the film industry, recreating her designs in Luhrmann's feature directorial debut, Strictly Ballroom (1992), the first part of the "Red Curtain Trilogy". It was a major financial success and received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, who lauded the acting, direction, and production values. Martin's double wins makes her just the second woman to win multiple Oscars in a single year, after fellow costume designer Edith Head.

For their next project together, the pair teamed up adaptating Luhrmann's earlier Australian production of La bohème for Broadway theatre, which opened to critical acclaim in December 2002. She won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and, alongside Strathie, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design the following year. She has stated that the tailoring on the clothing produced for the film is one of her proudest achievements.

Other ventures In 1997, Martin and Luhrmann founded a production company to manage their various creative projects.

Martin was named a Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year in 2013.

Martin's work was featured in fellow costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis' 2013 book Hollywood Costume.

Martin has stated that she prides herself on ensuring the costumes she produces are beautifully made, comfortable, and easy to take on and off. She also said that she is no longer tempted to keep any wardrobe mementos from the films she works on, telling Fashionista, "... I realised through long and hard experience the best record of your work, is the work itself."

In 2025 the couple has designed the private carriage Celia for the Belmond British Pullman luxury train, rebuilt from a former Brighton Belle motorcar, which has entered service in April 2026. The vehicle features a capacity of 12 passengers, a bar, a dining and a lounge area.

Personal life Martin met her husband, Baz Luhrmann, at university, and the pair married on Australia Day 1997, her 32nd birthday. In July 2015, the couple placed their Darlinghurst mansion on the market for $16 million AUD, in favour of establishing a more settled family life in New York City, where their family has been spending more and more time.

Filmography

Feature films + List of Catherine Martin feature film credits Year Title Director Credited as Notes Costume Designer Production Designer Producer 1989 Out of the Body Brian Trenchard-Smith 1992 Strictly Ballroom Baz Luhrmann Co-designed costumes with Angus StrathieMartin designed street costumes, whereas Strathie designed ballroom attireAlso titles design 1996 Romeo + Juliet Also title designer 2001 Moulin Rouge! Co-designed costumes with Angus Strathie 2008 Australia 2013 The Great Gatsby Co-designed sets with Karen Murphy as associate production designer 2022Elvis Co-designed sets with Karen MurphyAlso titles concept design 2025 EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert Documentary

Short films + List of Catherine Martin short film credits Year Title Director Credited as Notes Costume Designer Production Designer Producer 1988 Interim Jean-Pierre Améris2004No. 5 the Film Baz Luhrmann Commissioned by Chanel 2012 Hard Chic Created for the 2012 Met Gala and accompanying exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Naif Chic Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations The Classical Body The Exotic Body The Surreal Body Ugly Chic Waist Up/Waist Down 2014 Channel No. 5: The One That I Want Commissioned by Chanel 2017 ERDEM x H&M: The Secret Life of Flowers 2025 Grande Envie Herself Also story writer Commissioned by Miu Miu

Television + List of Catherine Martin television credits Year Title Contribution Notes Costume Designer Production Designer Executive Producer 1994 Great Performances Designed sets and co-designed costumes for the episode "La boheme"Co-designed costumes with Angus Strathie 2016–2017 The Get Down Co-designed costumes and sets for the episode "Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope for a Treasure"Co-designed costumes with Jeriana San Juan and sets with Karen Murphy 2023 Faraway Downs Alternate and extended cut of Australia

Awards and nominations Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1997 Best Art Direction Romeo + Juliet 2002 Moulin Rouge! Best Costume Design 2009 Australia 2014 The Great Gatsby Best Production Design 2023 Best Picture Elvis Best Costume Design Best Production Design

BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 1993 Best Costume Design Strictly Ballroom Best Production Design 1998 Romeo + Juliet 2002 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Best Production Design 2014 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Best Production Design 2023 Best Film Elvis Best Costume Design Best Production Design Best Scenic Design

Miscellaneous awards + Award Year Category Title Result Ref. AACTA Awards 1992 Best Production Design Strictly Ballroom 1999 Byron Kennedy Award 2001 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Best Production Design 2009 Best Costume Design Australia Best Production Design 2014 Best Film The Great Gatsby Best Costume Design Best Production Design 2022 Best Film Elvis Best Costume Design Best Production Design Longford Lyell Award ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards 2002 Excellence in Production Design for a Period or Fantasy Film Moulin Rouge! 2014 Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film The Great Gatsby 2023 Elvis Cinematic Imagery Award APDG Awards 2013 Award for Title Design The Great Gatsby Award for Visual Effects Design Award for Costume Design for Screen Award for Design on a Feature Film 2021 Cameron Creswell Outstanding Contribution to Design Award 2023 Award for Set Decoration for a Feature Film or Television Production Elvis Award for Design on a Feature Film Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards 2023 Best Costume Design Best Production Design Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2023 Best Costume Design Best Production Design Capri Producers of the Year Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Best Art Direction/Production Design The Great Gatsby Costume Designers Guild Awards 2014 Excellence in Period Film 2023 Elvis Critics' Choice Awards 2014 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Best Production Design 2023 Best Costume Design Elvis Best Production Design Drama Desk Awards 2003 Outstanding Costume Design La bohème Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2014 Best Film The Great Gatsby Best Production Design 2023 Best Film Elvis Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 Best Art Direction/Production Design The Great Gatsby 2022 Elvis Georgia Film Critics Association Awards 2023 Best Production Design Gold Coast Film Festival 2023 Chauvel Award Green Room Awards 1995 Best Design in Opera A Midsummer Night's Dream Helpmann Awards 2014 Best Costume Design Strictly Ballroom The Musical Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2022 Best Music Themed Film, Biopic, or Musical Elvis Inside Film Awards 2009 Best Production Design Australia International Cinephile Society Awards 2009 Best Production Design 2014 The Great Gatsby Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2002 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! 2022 Best Art Direction Elvis Best Costume Design London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2023 Technical Achievement Award Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2001 Best Production Design Moulin Rouge! Online Film Critics Society Awards 2023 Best Costume Design Elvis Best Production Design Outer Critics Circle Awards 2003 Outstanding Costume Design La bohème Outstanding Set Design Ovation Awards 2004 Costume Design (Large Theater) Set Design (Large Theater) Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2002 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Best Production Design 2013 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Best Production Design Producers Guild of America Awards 2023 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Elvis Rodeo Drive Walk of Style 2014 Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2001 Best Production Design Moulin Rouge! 2013 The Great Gatsby 2023 Best Costume Design Elvis Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2023 Variety Artisans Award Satellite Awards 1997 Best Art Direction & Production Design Romeo + Juliet 2002 Moulin Rouge! Best Costume Design 2008 Best Art Direction & Production Design Australia Best Costume Design 2014 Best Art Direction & Production Design The Great Gatsby Best Costume Design 2023 Best Art Direction & Production Design Elvis Best Costume Design Saturn Awards 2002 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! 2009 Australia Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 2014 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Best Production Design 2023 Best Costume Design Elvis Best Production Design Set Decorators Society of America Awards 2023 Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Period Feature Film St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2022 Best Costume Design Best Production Design Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Best Art Direction The Great Gatsby 2022 Elvis WhatsOnStage Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Strictly Ballroom

Honorary degrees +Name of school, year given, and name of degree School Year Degree University of Sydney 2025 Doctor of Letters (honoris causa)

Other honours Martin was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society and Australian film production. Martin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for "eminent service to the arts, to costume, production and set design, and to fostering emerging artistic talent."