Cedric Gibbons was born Austin Cedric Gibbons in New York City in 1890. His father, Austin Patrick Gibbons, was an immigrant of Irish descent from Liverpool, England who worked construction in New York City and assisted in the building of both the Brooklyn Armory and the Brooklyn Museum. Circa 1900, his father established his own contracting business in Manhattan and by the end of the decade Cedric was working for him as an apprentice draftsman. Sadly, Gibbons’ mother died unexpectedly in 1910, and his father subsequently abandoned his family and his business. Cedric assumed the care of his two younger siblings as well as his maternal grandparents, postponing his plans to attend college to study architecture and instead earned a living doing construction work. After a couple of years, he was able to enroll part-time at the Art Students League of New York, working construction during the day, and taking courses at night. Though there were no classes in architecture, he took a variety of courses, and was eventually awarded the Merit Scholarship which allowed him to attend school more consistently. He particularly enjoyed studying under Hugo Ballin, who was a frequent guest lecturer at the League. During this time, Gibbons also had his first exposure to film production when he and several other students appeared as extras in Maurice Tourneur’s TRILBY (1915), in a set designed by Ben Carré.

Sometime after completing his studies, Gibbons was hired as an artist at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. After a year with the agency, Hugo Ballin hired him as his assistant at Edison Studios where Ballin was employed as a set designer. When Ballin was appointed as the art director for Goldwyn Studios, Gibbons followed. However, his work as Ballin’s assistant was cut short when the United States entered World War I and Gibbons was drafted into the naval reserve, serving in Pelham Bay, New York. By the time he was honorably discharged in 1919, Goldwyn Studios had relocated to Culver City, California, prompting Gibbons to move West. He signed a long-term contract with the studio to continue serving as Ballin’s assistant, but when Ballin left his position to work as a director, Gibbons was given the opportunity to design for the studio. His first credit was THE UNWRITTEN CODE (1919), followed by EARTHBOUND (1920), and by 1921 he was promoted to supervising art director. When Goldwyn Studios was incorporated into the newly established Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924, Gibbons lost his position but was kept on as one of many art directors. However, his demotion was brief, and following his impressive work on BEN-HUR (1925), he resumed his title as supervising art director, a position he held for over three decades.

From 1924 until his retirement in 1956, Gibbons was credited on over a thousand MGM films. However, many of these credits are shared, and for many films it can be difficult to determine how much he contributed to the design beyond his capacity as supervisor. Nevertheless, the work that can be definitively attributed to him is substantial, and the elegance of his sets bolstered MGM’s reputation as the most sophisticated and glamorous of the major studios. While his designs developed with the times and changed according to the needs of the project, the quality of his work was consistent. With his interiors for OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928), A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (1928), GRAND HOTEL (1932), DINNER AT EIGHT (1933), and WIFE VS. SECRETARY (1936), among many others, he brought the emerging art deco style to the screen. At the same time, he was passionate about realism, particularly with period pieces, and he persuaded MGM to establish a research department. His commitment to authenticity can be seen in the sets of such films as THE CROWD (1928), THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934), ANNA KARENINA (1935), THE GORGEOUS HUSSY (1936), ROMEO AND JULIET (1936), and MARIE ANTOINETTE (1938). He was also instrumental in shaping the look of MGM musicals with his lavish fantasy sets for the BROADWAY MELODY series of films, THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936), and BORN TO DANCE (1936).

In 1927, Gibbons became one of the 36 founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is credited as the designer of the Oscar statuette. He holds the distinction of being both the most nominated and the most awarded in the category of Best Production Design with 39 nominations and 11 awards received, although except for his first win for THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS RAY (1929) and his nomination for WHEN LADIES MEET (1933), all of his wins and nominations were shared with other designers. Among the films for which he received the award for Best Production Design are THE MERRY WIDOW (1934), GASLIGHT (1944), AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951), THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952), and SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (1956), made in the final year of his career. In 1931, at the time that he was instilling his sets with art deco design, he co-designed and constructed a home in the same style for his new wife, Dolores Del Rio, to whom he was married until their divorce in 1941. In 1944, he married actress Hazel Brooks and remained married to her until his death in 1960.