Costume Designer Rita Riggs

The Legacy Committee of the Costume Designers Guild are delighted to honor three outstanding members: Mina Mittelman, Rita Riggs, and Eilish Zebrasky at their annual Legacy Brunch on May 22nd, 2016. These three accomplished women have had long and varied careers in designing and costuming film and television. All three are dual cardholders in both the Costume Designers Guild and Motion Picture Costumers. Rita Riggs’ journey took her from a small mining town in Arkansas to California at age nine. There was already no doubt what she wanted to do with her life and after graduating with a degree in theater from the University of Arizona under the mentorship of esteemed costume professor Dr. Fairfax Proudfit Walkup, she started working in the film business. Early years were spent on Alfred Hitchcock films, a man she credits with teaching her a great deal about film-making. But her main employer, mentor, and friend was producer Norman Lear for whom she created the costumes for the groundbreaking television show All in the Family, and most of his comedies that followed, such as The Jeffersons, Maude, and many more classics in the genre. She also designed many of his feature films during hiatus months in-between juggling one to six sitcoms at a time. In 2003 the Costume Designers Guild awarded her a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in television. Riggs still owns the design studio she bought and renovated in Hollywood which has served as her home base for so many years. At