Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen | |
---|---|
Born |
Laurence Roderick Bowen 11 March 1965 Kensington, London, England |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts |
Occupation | Interior designer, television personality |
Years active | 1996–present |
Known for |
Changing Rooms Popstar to Operastar Auction Party |
Spouse(s) | Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen (1985–present) |
Children | Cecile (b. 1995) Hermione (b. 1998) |
Parent(s) | Trefor Llewelyn-Bowen Patricia Wilks |
Website | Website |
Laurence Roderick Llewelyn-Bowen (born 11 March 1965) is a British "homestyle consultant" and television personality best known for his appearances on the BBC programme Changing Rooms and for being a judge on the ITV reality series Popstar to Operastar in 2010.
He is sometimes credited as "Laurence Llewelyn", and the components of his name are sometimes misspelled, and "Lawrence". On Changing Rooms, he is occasionally jocularly styled "Lord Laurence", a play on Laurence Olivier and Llewelyn-Bowen's flamboyance.
Laurence R. Bowen was born in 1965 in Kensington, London, to parents Trefor and Patricia Bowen (née Wilks). His father, an orthopaedic surgeon at Harley Street and, under the NHS, at St James' Hospital, Balham, South London, died of leukaemia in 1974, aged 42, when Laurence was nine. He went to primary school at Julians, in Leigham Court Road, Streatham, where his favourite subject was art, especially needlework. His mother, a teacher, died in 2002. He has a brother called Edward and a sister called Frances. He is of Welsh descent.
According to his website, Llewelyn-Bowen was educated at Alleyn's School in Dulwich and later graduated from the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts (which became a constituent college of the University of the Arts London) in 1986 with an unspecified Fine Art degree.
After graduating, Llewelyn-Bowen worked for the Harefield Group of Companies and the interior design firm Peter Leonard Associates. In 1989 he started his own design consultancy.