Helen Rose
Helen Rose (February 2, 1904 – November 9, 1985) was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Helen Rose
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire) · [1] · Public domain
- Born
- 1904.
- Died
- 1985.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- costume designer and fashion designer.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Helen Rose (February 2, 1904 – November 9, 1985) was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Helen Rose. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q455568 · wikipedia · Helen Rose
In this article
Career
Career
Helen Rose was born on February 2, 1904, to William Bromberg and Ray Bobbs in Chicago, Illinois of German Jewish and Russian Jewish descent. She attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then designed nightclub and stage costumes for various acts. She moved to Los Angeles in 1929, where she designed outfits for Fanchon and Marco and later the Ice Follies. In the early 1940s, she spent two years working for 20th Century Fox, where she designed wardrobes for musical selections. In 1943, MGM hired her in the wake of Adrian's departure, and by the late 1940s, Rose was promoted to chief designer at the studio. In 1956, Rose designed the wedding dress worn by Grace Kelly for her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. In the late 1960s, Rose left the studio to open her own design business and continued to provide attire for the famed and the wealthy. She also wrote a fashion column. She wrote two books: her autobiography Just Make Them Beautiful in 1976 and The Glamorous World of Helen Rose. In the 1970s, Rose also staged a traveling fashion show featuring some of her MGM-designed costumes that was called "The Helen Rose Show".
Recognition
Recognition
Rose won two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design: for The Bad and the Beautiful in 1952 and for I'll Cry Tomorrow in 1955. She was nominated a further eight times and was well-known for designing famous bridal gowns of the era. She designed the wedding dress of Grace Kelly when she married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956. She also designed clothing for Elizabeth Taylor in the movies Father of the Bride and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as well as Elizabeth Taylor's bridal gown when she married Conrad "Nicky" Hilton.
Personal life
Personal life
Rose was married to Harry V. Rose, whose birth name was Harry Rosenstein (1902–1993), and they had a daughter. Helen Rose died in Palm Springs, California, in 1985, aged 81.
Additional info
Additional info
1910 United States Federal Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Enumeration District 7, Sheet 17, April 22–23, 1910. 1920 United States Federal Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Enumeration District 6, Sheet 10A, January 10, 1920. California Death Index on Ancestry.com.
L. to R.: Annabella Levy (hairdresser), Elizabeth Taylor, and Helen Rose (costume designer) on the set of Rhapsody (1954) - publicity still
unknown (MGM)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1904
Helen Rose was born in 1904.
1985
Helen Rose died at Palm Springs.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Avrech, Robert J. Remembering Legendary Costume Designer Helen Rose. seraphicpress.com. April 4, 2014.
- 2.H. Kristina Haugland. Grace Kelly: icon of style to royal bride. Yale University Press. July 2024.
- 3.Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress and Accessories. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- 4.Helen Rose. Vintage Fashion Guild.
- 5.Folkart, Burt A. Film Costume Designer Helen Rose Dies. Los Angeles Times. November 12, 1985.
- 6.The Most Iconic Royal Wedding Gowns of All Time. Harper's Bazaar. April 13, 2018.
- 7.Bergan, Ronald. Designing Woman: Helen Rose. Slant Magazine. March 31, 2011.
- 8."Rose, Helen (1904–1985)." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Gale. 2007.
- 9.The 24th Academy Awards 1952. Oscars.org.
- 10.The 25th Academy Awards 1953. oscars.org.
- 11.The 26th Academy Awards 1954. oscars.org.
- 12.The 27th Academy Awards 1955. oscars.org.
- 13.The 28th Academy Awards 1956. oscars.org.
- 14.The 29th Academy Awards 1957. oscars.org.
- 15.The 32nd Academy Awards 1960. oscars.org.
- 16.The 39th Academy Awards 1967. oscars.org.
- 17.4th CDGA (2002). Costume Designers Guild Awards.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Fashion
2,260 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Helen BrockmanDesigner
- Helen DavidDesigner
- Helen Hay SmithDesigner
- Helen LeeDesigner
- Helen StoreyDesigner
- Helen YarmakDesigner
- Helena HenschenDesigner
- Hendrik VermeulenDesigner
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Helen Rose?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.