Kate Hawley Height, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Name Earned	Kiwi Costume Queen
Profession(s)	• Costume Designer • Set Designer
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 6" (168 cm)
Eye Colour	Moss Green
Hair Colour	Extra Light Ash Blonde
Career
Awards	1993 • Costume Designer of the Year award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards 2025 • Best Costume Design award for the film 'Frankenstein' at the 4th Astra Creative Arts Awards • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the 38th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards • Costume Designer of the Year award for 'Frankenstein' at The Fashion Awards • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards • Special Achievement in Costume Design Award for 'Frankenstein' at the Middleburg Film Festival • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the 10th Seattle Film Critics Society Awards • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2026 • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the Capri Hollywood International Film Festival • Excellence in Period Film award for 'Frankenstein' at the 28th Costume Designers Guild Awards • Best Costume Design award for 'Frankenstein' at the 31st Critics' Choice Awards • Variety Artisans Award for 'Frankenstein' at the 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Personal Life
Birthplace	Wellington, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealander (Kiwi)
Hometown	Wellington, New Zealand
School	Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Wellington, New Zealand
College/University	Wellington School of Design (Massey University School of Design), Wellington
Educational Qualification(s)	• Diploma in Visual Communication Design from Wellington School of Design (1992) • Motley Theatre Design Course
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Not Known
Family
Children	Daughter- Ruby
Parents	Father- Timothy Hawley (Opera Singer) Mother- (Nurse)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kate Hawley

• Kate Hawley was raised in Wellington, New Zealand. She developed an interest in visual storytelling at an early age.

• When she was just six months old, Hawley travelled overseas with her family after her father moved to London for work; much of her early childhood was spent travelling in a campervan while he toured.

• After the family returned to New Zealand and her father joined New Zealand Opera, Kate Hawley began spending time backstage, helping with props, refreshments, and later scenic painting.

• She studied at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, where a talk by theatre designer Tony Rabbit and director Colin McColl about their modern production of Romeo and Juliet inspired her to seriously consider working in theatre.

• At Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, she designed costumes, props and stage decorations for school and community performances. This marked the beginning of her designing career.

• Kate later attended the Wellington School of Design of Wellington Polytechnic (Massey University School of Design). In 1992, she completed a Diploma in Visual Communication Design.

• She was rewarded with a scholarship in 1996 to attend the Motley Theatre Design Course in London. She trained and enhanced her skills in theatrical design there.

• Hawley initially gained her fame through live performance. She performed much on stage performances and then ventured into film.

• She also worked as a teacher at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School.

• In 2006, she was the costume and set designer with the Auckland Theatre Company on a production of the play The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead.
  

  Kate Hawley working on a costume

• Throughout her stage career, she has also designed productions that have been staged by Royal New Zealand Ballet, New Zealand Festival and New Zealand Opera Company.

• In 2007, she collaborated with New Zealand Opera on Lucia di Lammermoor.
  

  Costumes designed by Kate Hawley for the play Lucia di Lammermoor

• A reviewer named Pepe Becker praised the production of Lucia di Lammermoor. He praised Hawley and her all-women creative team members on the creative and daring interpretation of the Donizetti work.

• In 2008, she designed for The Trial of the Cannibal Dog at the New Zealand International Arts Festival. In 2019, she worked on Hansel and Gretel for the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
  

  Kate Hawley’s costume designs for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Hansel & Gretel

• She then entered the film industry, where she served as a crew member in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lovely Bones’ (2009) and ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (2012).

• She later worked with filmmker Guillermo del Toro, designing costumes for the films like ‘Pacific Rim’ (2013), ‘Crimson Peak’ (2015), and ‘Frankenstein’ (2025).
  

  Costumes designed by Kate Hawley for ‘Frankenstein’ (2025)

• She has also designed costumes for films such as Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Suicide Squad (2016), and Mortal Engines (2018), establishing herself as a prominent designer in large-scale international cinema.
  

  Costumes designed by Kate Hawley for Suicide Squad (2016)

• Over the years she travelled extensively for work, often bringing personal items such as books, artwork, photographs, and even her own bedlinen to create a sense of home while on location.

• Kate Hawley keeps a gothic-style home in Mount Victoria, Wellington, where she spends about three months each year surrounded by items and artworks she has collected during her travels.