Clinton Kelly (TV personality)

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Clinton Kelly

Kelly at a fashion event in 2006
Born February 22, 1969 (1969-02-22) (age 40)
Panama City, Panama
Alma mater Boston College and
Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University
Occupation Fashion consultant
Years active 1993-present
Employer What Not to Wear
Website
www.ClintonKelly.com

Clinton Kelly (born February 22, 1969 in Panama City, Panama) is an American fashion consultant and media personality known for his role as co-host on What Not to Wear, a reality program that features fashion makeovers. He shares on-air duties with Stacy London. Kelly started his career as a freelance writer for several fashion magazines. Although he still continues to write he has since expanded into fashion consulting and designing.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Kelly, who has Irish and Italian ancestry, was raised on Long Island, New York in Port Jefferson Station.[1] He graduated from Comsewogue High School in 1987 and later from Boston College as a communications major in 1991; he was also the president of the University Chorale.[2][3][4] After college, he attained his master's degree in journalism (MSJ), specializing in magazine publishing, from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1993.[1]

[edit] Career

[edit] Magazines

Before becoming co-host of What Not to Wear, Kelly "hosted a program on Q2 (part of QVC)" and worked as a freelance writer and editor at several publications in New York.[5] He was an editor at Marie Claire and a deputy editor at Mademoiselle, where he was also a contributor under the pseudonym "Joe L’Amour".[6][7] He later became the executive editor of Daily News Record, a New York-based weekly men's fashion and retail trade magazine.[8]

[edit] What Not to Wear

While Kelly was at DNR, the producers at What Not to Wear decided to recast the male lead, Wayne Scot Lukas, and reached out to Kelly.[9] After three auditions, Kelly was chosen as the new co-host, alongside Stacy London. He describes their relationship as "a brother and sister in the backseat of a car on a long car trip. Sometimes it’s fun and we’re playing games, but other times, it’s, ‘She’s touching me! She’s looking at me! I can hear her breathing!'"[10][11]

Kelly is openly gay,[12][13][14] but in comparing What Not to Wear with the preceding show Queer Eye—which pioneered gay men making over people seen as needing fashion advice—the Washington Blade noted some key differences:[15][16] "[U]nless you have your gaydar on while watching the show, you would have no idea. There's nothing 'gay' about the show and he doesn't really talk about it on air. Viewers trust Kelly's expertise based on the strength of his choices rather than on the 'he's gay and he should know' fashion theory."[15]

In 2008 Kelly served as a guest consultant on the TLC reality series Miss America: Countdown to the Crown. He also assisted Mario Lopez during the live pageant telecast.[17]

[edit] Books

In September 2005, Kelly and co-host Stacy London co-wrote a book entitled Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body.[18][19] In 2008, Kelly authored the book Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally be Better than Everyone Else.[20]

[edit] Fashion

In addition to his books and hosting duties on What Not to Wear, Kelly writes a weekly style column for the Chicago Tribune's RedEye.[3][21] He's also a national spokesman for Macy's and has a clothing line through the QVC brand Denim & Co, which is known for its simple, classic, "easy-care" designs.[22][23] In July 2008, his Extended Tab 5 Trousers sold out in seven seconds.[24] He is quoted as saying "Looking good is every woman's inalienable right."[25][22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b BuddyTV bio Accessed 2009-03-27
  2. ^ NNDB profile Accessed 2009-06-16
  3. ^ a b http://www.bc.edu/alumni/kelly.html Accessed 2009-03-29
  4. ^ BC Q & A with Clinton Kelly Accessed 2009-03-26
  5. ^ Clothing Doctor bio Accessed 2009-03-27
  6. ^ WNTW bio Accessed 2009-06-16
  7. ^ TV.com bio Accessed 2008-06-16
  8. ^ http://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/clinton-kelly Accessed 2009-06-16
  9. ^ Wieder, Tamara (November 21, 2003). "Wear thee Well" Boston Phoenix. Accessed 2009-03-28
  10. ^ Lynch, Lorrie (February 10, 2009). "'What Not To Wear' hosts talk about each other" USA Weekend. Accessed 2009-03-27
  11. ^ Rovner, Carolyn. "Fabulous Q&A with What Not To Wear host Stacy London" Diablo Magazine Nov 2008. Accessed 2009-03-28
  12. ^ Fleming, Mike (November 28, 2003). "You and Yours, only better" Southern Voice. Accessed 2009-03-27
  13. ^ Clinton Kelly FAQ Accessed 2009-02-01.
  14. ^ http://www.bcglbt.org/notable%20allumni.html Accessed 2009-03-30
  15. ^ a b Moylan, Brian (October 17, 2003). "How to wear it well" Washington Blade. Accessed 2009-06-16
  16. ^ "Television: What Not to Wear' Southern Voice. Accessed 2009-06-16
  17. ^ AP (January 24, 2009). "Miss Indiana crowned new Miss America". MSNBC. Accessed 2009-03-27
  18. ^ Kelly, Clinton; London, Stacy (May 5, 2005). "What Not To Wear At BEA". Publisher's Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA528096.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-28. 
  19. ^ Kelly, Clinton; London, Stacy (2005). Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body. New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 256. ISBN 0-30-723671-4. 
  20. ^ Kelly, Clinton (2008). Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. pp. 256. ISBN 1-41-696149-6. 
  21. ^ Popular TV fashion guru tells Chicagoans 'what not to wear' in weekly RedEye column. Press release. November 20, 2007. http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/about/red-pressrelease-112007-clintonkelly,0,3300164.htmlstory. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  22. ^ a b Macy's bio Accessed 2009-06-16
  23. ^ Clinton Kelly for Denim & Co website Accessed 2009-03-26.
  24. ^ Green, Heather. "What Not to Wear's Clinton Kelly Comes Clean" Cary Magazine. Accessed 2009-03-26
  25. ^ E-Chronicles article Accessed 20009-06-16

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Kelly_(TV_personality)"
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