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 42)
Panama City, Panama
Alma mater Boston College
Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism
Occupation Fashion consultant
Years active 1993-present
Employer What Not to Wear
Macy's

Clinton Kelly (born February 22, 1969, Panama City, Panama) is an American fashion consultant and media personality best 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. In 2011, Kelly joined the cast of ABC's daytime cooking show The Chew.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Kelly, who is of Irish and Italian ancestry was raised in Port Jefferson Station, Long Island, New York.[1] He graduated from Comsewogue High School in 1987.

He attended Boston College and graduated with a degree in communications in 1991; he was president of Boston College's University Chorale.[2] 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 joining as 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.[3] Kelly was an editor at Marie Claire and a deputy editor at Mademoiselle, where he contributed under the pseudonym "Joe L'Amour".[4][5] He later became the executive editor of the Daily News Record, a New York-based weekly men's fashion and retail trade magazine.[6]

[edit] TLC

While Kelly was at DNR, the producers at TLC's What Not to Wear decided to recast the original male lead (Wayne Scot Lukas) and approached Kelly.[7] After three auditions, Kelly was chosen as the new co-host, alongside Stacy London. He has described their relationship as "a brother and sister in the backseat of a car on a long car trip".[8]

Kelly is openly gay,[9] 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:[10][11] "[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."[10]

In 2008 Kelly served as a guest consultant on the TLC reality series, Miss America: Countdown to the Crown. He assisted Mario Lopez during the live pageant telecast.[12]

[edit] Personal life

Kelly married his partner, Damon, in 2009 at their home in Connecticut.[13]

[edit] Books

In September 2005, Kelly and Stacy London co-wrote a book entitled Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body.[14]

In 2008, Kelly wrote Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally be Better than Everyone Else.[15]

In 2010, he wrote Oh No She Didn't, telling the do's and don'ts of women's fashion.[16]

[edit] Fashion

In addition to his books and hosting duties on What Not to Wear, he writes a weekly style column for "RedEye" in The Chicago Tribune.[17] He is also a national spokesman for Macy's and has a clothing line through the QVC brand Denim & Co.[18][19] In July 2008, his Extended Tab 5 Trousers sold out in seven seconds.[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b BuddyTV bio Accessed 2009-03-27
  2. ^ Boston College Q&A with Clinton Kelly
  3. ^ Clothing Doctor bio
  4. ^ What Not to Wear bio
  5. ^ Profile at TV.com
  6. ^ www.apbspeakers.com
  7. ^ Wieder, Tamara (November 21, 2003). "Wear thee Well", Boston Phoenix.
  8. ^ Rovner, Carolyn. "Fabulous Q&A with What Not To Wear host Stacy London", Diablo Magazine, November 2008. Accessed 2009-03-28
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike (November 28, 2003). "You and Yours, only better", Southern Voice. Accessed 2009-03-27
  10. ^ a b Moylan, Brian (October 17, 2003). "How to wear it well", Washington Blade
  11. ^ "Television: What Not to Wear", Southern Voice
  12. ^ AP (January 24, 2009). "Miss Indiana crowned new Miss America", MSNBC
  13. ^ Knorr, Amanda, "In Good Taste: Clinton Kelly of 'What Not to Wear'", Improper Bostonian July 29-August 11, 2009: 38 
  14. ^ 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. 
  15. ^ 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. 
  16. ^ Kelly, Clinton (2010). Oh No She Didn't: The Top 100 Style Mistakes Women Make and How to Avoid Them. New York: Gallery Books. pp. 208. ISBN 1-43-916316-2. 
  17. ^ "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 2009-03-30. 
  18. ^ Macy's bio
  19. ^ Clinton Kelly for Denim & Co website Accessed 2009-03-26.
  20. ^ Green, Heather. "What Not to Wear's Clinton Kelly Comes Clean", Cary Magazine.

[edit] External links

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