Ruth Secord

Ruth Secord is one of Canada’s most accomplished and sought-after costume designers, celebrated for a career that spans more than four decades across film, television, and international productions. A multi-award-winning designer, she is renowned for her extraordinary ability to bring characters and worlds to life through costume, seamlessly moving between centuries, cultures, and genres with a distinctive eye for colour, detail, and storytelling.

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Her remarkable portfolio ranges from the rugged Scottish settlements of 19th-century Canada in The Campbells to the beloved Prince Edward Island landscapes of the Emmy Award-winning Road to Avonlea; from contemporary urban life in Kim’s Convenience to the imaginative futures of science-fiction productions such as Deathlands and Control Factor. Whether recreating a precise historical era or envisioning worlds yet to exist, Secord’s work consistently enriches the narrative and deepens audience connection.

 

Throughout her distinguished career, Secord has designed for some of the industry's most respected performers, including Richard Gere and Diane Kruger (Longing), Sir Ben Kingsley and Theo James (Backstabbing for Beginners), Gordon Pinsent (Wet Bum), Kim Cattrall (Brown Bread Sandwiches), Rip Torn and Colm Feore (Beautiful Dreamers), Charlton Heston and Bruce Greenwood (Little Kidnappers), Amanda Plummer, Megan Follows and Teresa Stratas (Under the Piano), Gena Rowlands and Laura Linney (Wild Iris), and Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames (A Day Late and a Dollar Short).

 

Her extensive television credits include five seasons of Kim’s Convenience, five seasons of Wind at My Back, three seasons of The Border, two seasons of Wild Card, as well as Cracked, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Men With Brooms, Letterkenny, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, and more than 100 episodes of The Campbells. Her feature films and movies-of-the-week include En Vogue Christmas, Fir Crazy, Cadet Kelly, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, Bleacher Bums, Clubland, and science-fiction productions including Webs, Threshold, Deathlands: Homeward Bound, and Do or Die.

 

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Ruth spent her formative years on Baffin Island and in Guelph, Ontario. She is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. A respected leader within the screen industry, she is a member of both the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Television Academy, and serves on jury committees for the Canadian Screen Awards and the Emmy Awards.

 

With a career defined by artistic excellence, versatility, and an enduring commitment to her craft, Ruth Secord has helped shape some of Canada's most memorable screen productions and remains one of the country's foremost costume designers.