About
Dorothea Holt Redmond was an architectural designer and Walt Disney Imagineer renowned for her skills as a painter and illustrator. She was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 18, 1910 and went on to study architecture and at the University of Southern California and later studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design. She was the first woman to breakthrough into an exclusively male field of motion-picture production design. She worked on films such as Rear Window, The Ten Commandments, and Gone with the Wind and later helped envision parts of Disney World.
“She was a charming lady. Not a bad bone in her body.”
Dorothea was born on May 18, 1910 in Los Angeles, California as the only child of Harry and Mary Holt. Her father co-owned Western Lithograph Co.
1933
Dorothea studies architecture and earns a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of Southern California. While an architect, she worked in the Pereira & Luckman firm and was involved in helping them design the Los Angeles International Airport.
1936
Dorothea receives a degree in illustration rom the Art Center College. Years later, she went on to teach at the school.
1938
Dorothea gets hired to work in the studio of David O. Selznick becoming the first woman to work in an all male-field, much to the dismay of her colleagues. At Selznick International Pictures, she later met her husband, producer, Harry.
1939
Gone with the Wind
Dorothea illustrates with ink and watercolor the scenes of Gone with the Wind. She would envision the initial look, illustrate it, and give it off to the set architects and decorators for them to recreate.
1966
Dorothea becomes a Walt Disney Imagineer and helps envision elements of Disneyland and Disney World. Her ideas can be found in Fantasyland; Main Street, U.S.A; Adventureland;Tokyo Disneyland; and Cinderella’s Castle.
2008
Dorothea is honored in the Disney Legends program for her extraordinary and captivating watercolor sketches and work in The Walt Disney company.
2009
Dorothea passes away in her home in Hollywood Hills at the age of 98.