Anthea Sylbert, a renowned American costume designer and producer, was born Anthea Giannakouros in Brooklyn to Greek parents Nicholas T. Giannakouros and Georgia. She studied art at Barnard College and the Parsons School of Design in New York, but abandoned her plans for a Master's Degree after being offered a research position with a Broadway costume designer.
Sylbert's early career involved working odd jobs off-Broadway for little pay, making ends meet by designing shoes for Capezio. Her first feature film as costume designer was the modestly-budgeted Eli Wallach comedy The Tiger Makes Out (1967),which had found no takers among the established costumers. Her then-husband Paul Sylbert also worked as production designer on the picture.
Sylbert subsequently enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with Paul's twin brother Richard Sylbert, with whom she collaborated on iconic films such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974). Jack Nicholson, who nicknamed her 'Ant', reportedly liked his Chinatown wardrobe so much that he kept it. Another frequent collaborator, director Mike Nichols, praised her design work as "brilliantly alive, witty, recognizable and has a very strong sense of character and story. She is an important member of a production in that she supports and helps to define the entire film."
Sylbert received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her work on Chinatown and for Julia (1977),eventually winning a Career Achievement Award from the Costume Designers Guild in 2005. Her work for the stage included costumes for Neil Simon's Broadway production The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971-73).
From 1977, Sylbert worked in various executive positions at Warner Brothers and United Artists, a rare female representative in the traditionally male-dominated industry of the era. In 1978, then-Warner Brothers studio boss John Calley promoted her to Vice president of Production. Two years later, she rose to the same position at United Artists.
An independent producer from 1982, Sylbert formed a partnership with actress Goldie Hawn, which resulted in the formation of the Hawn/Sylbert Movie Company. Among their joint output were the Goldie Hawn comedies Protocol (1984),Wildcats (1986) and Overboard (1987). Sylbert won a 1996 Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Made for Television Movie category for the biopic Truman (1995),starring Gary Sinise.
Sylbert retired from film work in 1999 and moved to the small Greek island of Skiathos with her second husband, actor Richard Romanus. She passed away on June 18, 2024, at the age of 84, after her husband had predeceased her in December 2023. A documentary on her career, entitled Anthea Sylbert: My Life in 3 Acts, is said to be in post-production.
