Donna Berwick, who worked as a costume designer on Da 5 Bloods, Hemlock Grove and Game of Thrones, has died. She was 66.
Her brother, Stephan Berwick, announced on Facebook that she died Wednesday following a battle with breast cancer.
“Today we lost the coolest, most magnetic, joy of life woman I’ve known, my incomparable older sister, Donna Berwick, to a return of breast cancer. She met the battle with an unrivaled tough cheer that was so ‘Donna’, those who knew her will know what I mean,” he wrote. “Being around her was a lesson in joy. Being close to her was a feeling of acceptance and embrace without judgment. She lived with a fearless celebration of life without boundaries.”
Before starting her career in costuming, Donna earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City as well as an associate’s degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She also worked in NYC’s garment district for more than a decade, designing for singer-songwriter Grace Jones.
Donna was also a member of the Rodeo Caldonia artistic collective of female creatives, which produced seminal art across a range of media. After, she began working as a film costume designer on projects including Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, U-571, Frailty, The Box, Peeples, If Beale Street Could Talk, Da 5 Bloods and, most recently, Ezra. Donna also worked on TV shows such as Hemlock Grove seasons two and three and Game of Thrones season six.
Stephan concluded his tribute, “Donna embodied the ideals of the artist she was since high school, through her career as a film costume designer. As the eldest child of our equally amazing parents, Hermine and Norman Berwick, she embodied all that was great about them and our family. My brother, Jeffrey, and I, and our first siblings from our mother, Beverly and Jimmy, can only dream to uphold where we come from and who are, as Donna did with ease.”
