Zinzi Coogler is on the final leg of her awards season victory lap as a first-time Oscar nominee, but the Sinners producer is hardly new to this.

For more than 15 years, she has had a hand in bringing her husband, filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s, projects to life, dating back to his 2009 short film Locks, for which she served as first assistant director. The former ASL interpreter, who majored in communicative disorders and deaf studies, has brought unique life and educational perspectives to each work, from 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah to 2023’s Creed III, for both of which she served as executive producer through Proximity Media, the production company she started with Ryan and Sev Ohanian.

“My parents are all artists, so I’ve been exposed to creative spirits my whole life,” Zinzi tells ESSENCE. “So much of what we do at Proximity Media is about how we connect and contribute to our community, which is similar to being an ASL interpreter, so I didn’t see jumping from my role as an ASL interpreter to a producer as a career shift but just as another way to pour into my community,” she explains. “It wasn’t a difficult choice for me because I knew that my work as an interpreter was very profound for me personally, but my work as a filmmaker would have the potential to have a much larger impact in the advocacy work that I feel like my life’s calling has been.”

Sinners is undeniably the most impactful film of 2025, with nearly $400 million in box office receipts, a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations and a rare ownership deal, which gives Ryan the rights to the Warner Bros. movie after 25 years. Its distinctive visual format also made director of photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first female cinematographer to shoot on Imax 65mm film and the first woman of color to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

“When your community believes in you, trusts you and respects you, you get films like Sinners,” says Arkapaw. “I’m honored to have been the photographer on this film and to have made it with such beautiful people who care about how our ancestors are represented on the big screen.”

The familial connection to the Jim Crow era horror flick runs deep for both Ryan and Zinzi, the former being inspired by his uncle James’s love of the blues and the latter, by the Mississippians from whom she descended.

“I had the opportunity to imagine the lives they may have lived in ways that felt both real and fantastical,” Oakland native Zinzi says of those who came before her. Her reimagined ancestral narratives shine through in the performances of Michael B. Jordan’s Smokestack twins Elias and Elijah Moore, Delroy Lindo’s Delta Slim, Miles Caton’s preacher boy, Wunmi Mosaku’s hoodoo priestess Annie and Jayme Lawson’s Pearline.

 “I’ve heard their stories throughout my life and have read about sharecroppers living in the South during that time, but it was different to walk in the paths they may have traveled and to experience those environments more fully,” Zinzi continues. “It deepened my connection to them and to the resilience, creativity and choices that shaped our family. It also gave me a greater sense of responsibility to honor those stories and to continue carrying them forward.”

That respect was certainly felt on set. Costume designer Ruth E. Carter, now the most-nominated Black woman in Oscar history with the nod for Sinners being her fifth in the costume category (she’s already a two-time winner), echoes Arkapaw’s sentiments about the Black Woman in Hollywood (BWIH) honoree.

“Zinzi’s name means abundance—growth, multiplying—and that couldn’t be more fitting,” says Carter. “She is abundance in motion. She multiplies possibility. To our filmmaking family, and especially to Ryan, she is both compass and confidante. She knows exactly where the goal line is, but she never lets us settle there. The moment we think we’ve arrived, she moves that line further, pushing us toward bigger vision, deeper intention and greater impact.”

Here, Zinzi along with BWIH Luminary Spotlight recipients Carter, Arkapaw, Lawson, Mosaku, hair designer Shunika Terry-Jennings, and production designer Hannah Beachler—the latter three of whom have also received Oscar noms for their work on the film—talk about their communal and artistic collaborations on set and the lasting influence of Sinners that’s most meaningful to them.

ESSENCE: Zinzi, what was your guiding principle in terms of the type of environment you wanted to curate on set?

ZINZI COOGLER: This film was deeply personal and special to everyone involved. We knew everyone was pouring so much of themselves into every detail and craft. We needed the environment to enable the cast and crew to feel creative and free, but also safe spiritually and physically.

ESSENCE: How unique of an experience was it for all of you to work with so many Black women leading their various departments on this film? How did that enhance your work?

AUTUMN DURALD ARKAPAW: When you step on set and you see yourself reflected in those around you it gives you the trust and strength to conquer anything. Ryan has done a beautiful job of supporting the women around him, so much that it’s changing the landscape of film as a whole. He believes in us and he gives us the space to lead, create and have a collective voice.

ESSENCE: Zinzi, Wunmi has shared a sweet story of you lending your assistant to her when she had a minor injury on set and had to go to urgent care. How does being a mother shape how you show up for other women and mothers on set?

COOGLER: It was important to me that she had the space and support to take care of herself without having to carry that burden alone, both spiritually and physically. Being a mother has deepened my empathy, and my awareness of what people may be carrying that isn’t always visible. As women, and especially as mothers, we understand the responsibility of caring for others while often putting ourselves last. That creates a kind of unspoken bond. I try to lead from the place of making sure people feel seen, supported and safe.

ESSENCE: As a first-time mom with a newborn during filming, what was it like watching another working mother be in control on set, Wunmi?

WUNMI MOSAKU: Incredibly inspirational. Not only was it [Zinzi] and Ryan making the set welcoming to kids and family, but also just seeing her doing it made me know I could too. She is such a sensitive producer, and I wasn’t sure if it was just because I was a mum that I was getting this treatment, but I soon realized she treated everyone the same and really made sure we felt seen and heard.

ESSENCE: Annie has come to be such a beloved character in this narrative, particularly because we don’t often see plus-size, dark-skinned women represented or embraced as she is onscreen. Ruth, what went into your conceptualization of her costuming?

RUTH E. CARTER: My responsibility as a costume designer is to honor the essence of the character as written—and Annie was never defined by her size. On the page, she was not described as “plus-size.” She was a hoodoo priest, a spiritual protector, Smoke’s lover, his wife—a woman who carries a profound aura. That is how I approached her. Annie’s power is spiritual. It’s ancestral. It’s rooted in knowing. So her wardrobe had to reflect that authority and that grace. Her garments are layered—cottons, textures, sacred pouches—each element chosen to suggest history, ritual and protection. Nothing about her costuming was meant to minimize or exaggerate her body; it was meant to elevate her presence. Ryan crafted Annie as a woman who commands space because of who she is, not how she is perceived. I wanted her clothing to move with that same intention. When she enters a room, you feel her before she speaks. The fabrics, the drape, the adornment—they all work to underscore that she is grounded in something deeper than the physical. If audiences are embracing her, I believe it’s because they recognize that authenticity. Annie is loved because she represents power, devotion, sensuality and protection all at once. My goal was simply to clothe that truth.

ESSENCE: Wunmi, how did the wardrobe and makeup/hairstyling help you lean into the beauty and essence of who Annie is?

MOSAKU: The way Ms. Ruth works is such a layered process that I liken to the Michelangelo quote: “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there; I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” I felt like we started with so many ideas and layers and chiseled away down to her core, and in that process of chiseling, I found her. She became clearer and clearer the more we took away. Annie’s hair felt really organic using a reference picture of the era. One woman really stood out to us, and she became the basis of where we began with Annie.

ESSENCE: How did being in Shunika’s care shape your experience while filming?

MOSAKU: I felt safe and respected. The hair and makeup truck is often the first stop of the day and having such care surrounding us meant the mind was free and defenses were down.

ESSENCE: Shunika, what was most important to you, Ryan and Zinzi when it came to crafting the hair for Wunmi and Jayme’s characters, Annie and Pearline, in particular?

SHUNIKA TERRY-JENNINGS: Truth and cultural specificity. The hair had to feel like it belonged to these women, to their environment and to their lived experiences in the 1930s Mississippi Delta. Nothing could feel styled for camera. It had to feel lived in, rooted and intentional. For Annie, authenticity was everything. She is a sharecropper, but she carries dignity and pride. We focused on detailed partings and allowing her natural texture to speak, honoring the working Black women of that era who maintained beauty and order despite harsh conditions. Her hair needed to reflect strength, humility and community.

For Pearline, the conversation shifted to economics and aspiration. Her life was different. We used a wig to transform Jayme and carefully blended her hairline for realism, because believability was key. Pearline’s hair, paired with her hats and wardrobe, subtly communicated status. She took pride in refinement. At the core, what mattered most was that the hair helped define identity, class and spirit without ever distracting from performance. It had to support the story and honor the culture.

ESSENCE: Hair and makeup styling can often be traumatizing for Black actresses on film sets. How do you take into consideration those sensitivities? Did you receive any feedback from this cast about the uniqueness of the experience of getting to work with you, a Black hairstylist, on this project?

JENNINGS: On set, I am very mindful that hairstyling can sometimes be traumatic for Black actresses and actors, especially if they have had experiences where their textures were misunderstood or mishandled. My responsibility is to create a safe, knowledgeable and collaborative environment. Our hair consists of many different textures and having experience working with all of them, embracing them and nurturing them is essential. Actresses and actors can sense when they are in good hands. They can feel when the hair designer is confident, culturally aware and supported by a knowledgeable team. That trust is everything.

All the cast trusted my concepts for their transformations. Michael B. Jordan received a texturizer to soften his natural density for Smoke and Stack. Miles Caton had his locs combed out and received a haircut. Saul Williams’s hair was reshaped to embrace and refine his wave pattern. Delroy Lindo wore a wig. Those were some of the most significant transformations that altered natural patterns and silhouettes, and each one required intention and care to protect the integrity of their hair. Everyone valued and respected our approach. The transformations were never about forcing a look. They were about serving character while keeping hair healthy and honoring texture. I was deeply honored by the faith they placed in me and my hair team.

When Black actors get to collaborate with someone who understands their hair from lived experience and professional training, it shifts the energy. There is ease. There is dialogue. There is mutual respect. That was the uniqueness of this experience. It was rooted in trust, care and cultural understanding.

JAYME LAWSON: I just knew I was in good hands from the moment we met. I was blonde at the time and was not trying to color my hair! Shunika was so collaborative. She came with so many references, but really gave me a say in helping to create Pearline’s look. I didn’t have to worry about showing up and getting my edges snatched from me, any heat damage—none of that. She made it easy. So, all I had to focus on, which is all we should ever have to focus on, was my job. In this industry, that is still a rare gift.

ESSENCE: Hannah, the set design so realistically places audiences into this world. Which set is your favorite and why?

HANNAH BEACHLER: That’s a hard one.  I love Annie’s store, but I love the church as well.  I think Annie’s store, for me, was really this mystical place that delved into the spiritual, but she was also a cook and someone the community would go to for healing and nurturing.  So, it was a lot of fun to dig into what that could be and how to create her world. The church was special because I wanted it to both look and feel grand while remaining simple and small, and that was a fun challenge to create that juxtaposition. 

ESSENCE: Jayme, having appeared in an Off-Broadway production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf early in your career, how did it feel to be working alongside so many Black women above and below the line again for this film?

LAWSON: It felt incredible. Affirming. Safe. When I decided to do For Colored Girls, I was fresh out of college and passed on a few studio movies to do so. The main reason was knowing how rare it is to be surrounded by your sisters at work. So, years later, to be alongside so many Black women again on all sides of the camera for a film of this magnitude, it feels like a total affirmation of the choice I made 8 years ago, and of all the choices I am to make again. And hopefully what was once rare, becomes a norm.

ESSENCE: What feedback about your impact on this film has touched you most?

MOSAKU: That the cast and crew felt protected by me.

JENNINGS: Hearing that the hair felt honest. When people say they saw their grandmother, their aunt, their uncle or someone from their own community reflected on screen, that means everything to me. That tells me we honored the culture correctly. It also deeply moved me when cast members expressed how safe they felt in our chairs. Knowing that actors trusted my team and me with their natural hair, with major transformations, and with protecting the integrity of their texture; it’s something I do not take lightly. When someone says, “I felt seen,” or “I felt taken care of,” that stays with me.

ARKAPAW: Recently, I did a talk in London for a “women in film” organization. My heart was full that day. I had met these women for the first time, but they approached me as if we’d known each other for years. They were cheering me on and thanking me for existing in a space where they can now see themselves because Sinners is not only a film, it also represents so much more to many women—it represents a voice. You must see you to be you.

CARTER: What moves me most is seeing audiences pack the theaters and return again and again excited by the story, and by the costumes themselves. That tells you the film is speaking beyond the surface. Especially in the surreal montage, where the costuming shifts into a kind of Afrofuturist language—blending past, present and future in one rhythmic, visual expression—you feel something deeper unfolding. That sequence becomes a fire of creativity and inheritance. It suggests that we are not disconnected from those who came before us, we are the continuation. We are the ones we have been waiting for. Our generations speak to one another through music, through movement, through symbolism in dress. And when audiences see that—when they recognize themselves in the fabric, the rhythm, the lineage—there’s a catharsis.

ESSENCE: Zinzi, how has the Oscar campaign and being one of the faces of this film challenged you? Do you see yourself stepping into the forefront more going forward?

COOGLER: The biggest challenge is balancing time away from my kids. Ryan and I are not based in L.A., so we travel a lot to participate in what we’ve been invited to. I am also an introvert and extremely shy, so I prefer not to be in the spotlight. I do not see this as a regular occurrence because I am most comfortable behind the scenes. But at the same time I am filled with so much gratitude for being thought of, included, and for all the opportunities I’ve had over the past few months to support our cast and crew and to share this experience with them. I have had the privilege of getting the best seat in the house to see how their collective work on this film has made an impact on audiences. It’s an honor to share this journey with them and to celebrate those contributions.

Tune into the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood awards ceremony, hosted by Marsai Martin, when it premieres on the official ESSENCE YouTube channel on Saturday, March 14.

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

PHOTOGRAPHED BY PEACE BUREAU
SET DESIGN: SKYLAR COLE, DAXX GONZALEZ & BRIGGEN-BRIKAI BAITY
LIGHTING TECHNICIAN: DEREK PERLMAN
DIGITAL TECHNICIAN: DAVID KO
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS: JACOB COOPER & DAVID KO
PRODUCTION: PEACE BUREAU
PRODUCTION MANAGER: NIA JEAN-RAYMOND
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS: CIERA MCGREW, JEAN PAUL DANIELS & AMANUEL GETACHEW
POST PRODUCTION: TODD MACINTIRE
LOCATION: QUIXOTE STUDIOS, LA
SPECIAL THANKS: ESSENCE, Visuals Director, Breanna Hall ESSENCE, Art Director, Isaiah Stewart

ZINZI COOGLER

STYLED BY JASON BOLDEN
HAIR: MARCIA HAMILTON
MAKEUP: JANICE KINJO / MADE ARTISTS AGENCY. USING TOO FACED
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
STYLING ASSISTANTS: KELSEY DOUGLAS
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ

WUNMI MOSAKU

STYLED BY SHAMEELA HICKS AT THE WALL GROUP
HAIR: ARAXI LINDSEY
MAKEUP: U.Z.O
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZRUTH CARTER
HAIR: DAVONTE BLANTON
MAKEUP: BRANDY ALLEN
HAIR ASSISTANT: HEATHER BORAH
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ

JAYME LAWSON

STYLED BY JASON REMBERT
HAIR: DHARIUS
MAKEUP: MILA THOMAS
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ
STYLING ASSISTANT: WILTON WHITE

SHUNIKA TERRY-JENNINGS
STYLED BY TANJA CALDWELL
HAIR: SHERRIANN COLE
MAKEUP: CAMILLE ARIANE FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS USING ARDELL LASHES
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ

HANNAH BEACHLER
STYLED BY TANJA CALDWELL
HAIR: KIM KIMBLE
MAKEUP: AUTUMN MOULTRIE
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ

AUTUMN DURALD ARKAPAW

STYLED BY TANJA CALDWELL
HAIR: SHERRIANN COLE
MAKEUP: CAMILLE ARIANE
NAILS: SAYO IRIE
NAIL ASSISTANTS: ERIKO KAN & AMANDA FERNANDEZ

VIDEO

DIRECTED BY DALURE DILLON
EDITED BY DALURE DILLON
PRODUCTION BY PEACE BUREAU
ADDITIONAL CAMERA OPERATION: DAISY VILLASENOR
LIGHTING: NATE STURLEY & DEREK PERLMAN
SOUND: MICHAEL FIGUEROA