Tim Gunn | |
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Gunn attending the 81st Academy Awards
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Born |
Timothy MacKenzie Gunn July 29, 1953 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Residence | Manhattan, New York City |
Nationality | American |
Education | BFA, Sculpture; BA English Literature |
Alma mater | Corcoran College of Art and Design, Yale University |
Occupation | Fashion consultant, television personality, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., actor, author |
Known for | Fashion |
Home town | Washington, D.C., U.S. (raised), New York City, New York, U.S. |
Board member of | Liz Claiborne, Inc. |
Timothy MacKenzie "Tim" Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American fashion consultant, television personality, actor and author. He served on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative officer. Over 15 seasons Gunn has become well known as the on-air mentor to designers on the reality television program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to two spin-off shows, Bravo's Tim Gunn's Guide to Style and Lifetime's Under the Gunn, as well as five books. In addition to being an executive producer, Gunn has served as mentor for the teen designers on Project Runway: Junior. He also provides the voice of Baileywick, the castle steward in the Disney Junior television show Sofia the First and narrated the sitcom Mixology.
Gunn was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He is the son of Nancy (née Comfort) and George William Gunn, an FBI agent during the administration of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Gunn was a champion swimmer throughout high school, and later attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design, receiving a BFA in sculpture.
Gunn, who identifies as gay, was raised in an intensely homophobic household and viewed homosexuals as predators. According to a video Gunn created for the It Gets Better Project, he attempted to commit suicide at the age of 17 by swallowing over 100 pills. He denied his sexual orientation until his early 20s, and did not share it with his family until he came out to his sister when he was 29.