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Bobby Berk

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Bobby Berk
Berk in 2020
Born (1981-08-25) August 25, 1981 (age 43)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupations
  • Interior designer
  • product designer
  • television personality
  • author
TelevisionQueer Eye
Spouse
Dewey Do
​
(m. 2012)​
Websitebobbyberk.com

Bobby Berk (born August 25, 1981) is an American interior designer, television personality, and writer. The recipient of four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, he starred in the Netflix series Queer Eye as the interior design expert for its first eight seasons.[1]

Early life

Berk was born in Houston, Texas[2] to a young mother and then adopted by his maternal aunt and her husband, Connie and Jerry Berk. He grew up in Mount Vernon, Missouri in the middle of Amish farm country.[3][4] Berk cites that being gay in the Bible Belt and attending an Assemblies of God church throughout his childhood was difficult, and that he faced both internal and external homophobia growing up.[5]

Berk left home at the age of fifteen. He landed in Springfield, Missouri, and got a job at Applebee's in Branson, sleeping in his car or staying with friends. He drove home for school as a sophomore and attended Kickapoo High School for junior year. He then worked as a telemarketer for MCI Communications. It was through this job that he first met his biological father.[6] Just before he turned eighteen, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he got a gig at the Bombay Company.[7][8]

Career

Berk relocated to New York City in 2003.[8][9] He found employment at Restoration Hardware and Bed Bath & Beyond before moving on to Portico, a high-end home furnishing company. With no high school diploma or formal training he worked his way up to creative director.[10]

Bobby Berk Home (2011)

After Portico folded, Berk launched his online store, Bobby Berk Home, in 2006,[11] opening his first store in SoHo, Manhattan a year later.[10] Midtown Miami, Florida followed in 2010 as well as Midtown Atlanta, Georgia.[12][13] He later launched Bobby Berk Interiors + Design, specializing in interior design services, whose headquarters is in Downtown Los Angeles.[14] He appeared on television networks such as HGTV, NBC, CBS, and Bravo.[14] Through his businesses, Berk has his own line of wallpaper, furniture, and art.

In 2018, Berk began starring as the interior design expert on the Netflix reality series Queer Eye.[1] During his time on Queer Eye, he appeared alongside his castmates in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video.[15] Berk announced in 2023 that he would be departing the series after its eighth season, which aired in January 2024.[16] He elaborated on his decision when the season released, explaining that he had already planned his next projects and thus chose not to re-sign his contract upon Netflix's decision to renew Queer Eye a year after their original contracts ended in 2022.[17]

In 2021, Berk competed in season six of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Caterpillar". He was eliminated alongside Willie Robertson as "Mallard" in the Group B semi-finals.

In 2022, Bobby was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Otis College of Art and Design.[18]

Personal life

Berk and his husband Dewey Do, a maxillofacial surgeon, met online in 2004 and married in 2012 "as soon as it was legal to get married".[19] In July 2018, the couple moved to Los Angeles, California after living in New York City for over a decade.[3][20] In 2023, they began living part-time in Portugal with their dog Bimini, whom they adopted in 2021.[21]

Berk endorsed Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[22]

On June 23, 2020, Berk and Queer Eye co-star Jonathan Van Ness praised recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions which ruled that LGBT employment discrimination was a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[23] However, both of them still urged the United States Congress to pass the proposed Equality Act, which Berk claimed would amend the Civil Rights Act so it "would really extend healthcare and housing rights."[23]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2018–2024 Queer Eye Himself Main (Seasons 1–8), 58 episodes
2018 Nailed It! Himself Episode: "3, 2, 1...Ya Not Done!!"
2019 Lip Sync Battle Himself Season 5, Episode 1
2019 Big Mouth Himself Season 3
2019 Alexa & Katie Annoyed Mini Golf Customer Part 3, Episode 8
2020 Miss Americana Himself
2021 The Masked Singer Himself/Caterpillar Season 6 contestant
2021 Blown Away Himself Guest judge, Host
2023 Hell's Kitchen Himself Chef's Table guest diner for the Red Team; Episode: "Citizens of Hell's Kitchen"

Music videos

Year Song Artist
2018 "This Is Me (The Reimagined Remix)" Keala Settle, Kesha, & Missy Elliott
2019 "You Need to Calm Down" Taylor Swift

References

  1. ^ a b "Netflix Press Release". Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Locke, Charley (September 2018). "'Queer Eye' Designer Bobby Berk on Creating Space". Texas Monthly. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Fixsen, Anna (March 6, 2018). "Queer Eye Host Bobby Berk on the Transformative Power of Design". Metropolis. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  4. ^ McManus, John; Rossi, Kaitlyn. "Berk-i-tude: the New Term for Electrifying". Builder. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "Camp Rules". Queer Eye. Season 1. Episode 5. Netflix.
  6. ^ McDonald, Heather (December 10, 2019). "Queer Eye Chat: Coming Out, Meeting Your Biological Dad, & More with Bobby Berk". Retrieved September 29, 2020 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Berk, Bobby (August 23, 2016). "The Chaise Lounge – Bobby Berk: Millennial interior design and product". Bobby Berk Interiors and Design Blog. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Gleeson, Jill (November 27, 2014). "A Home of Hope: Bobby Berk". EDGE Media Network. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Vargas, Alani (February 7, 2018). "Who is Bobby Berk from Queer Eye?". Bustle. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Bahler, Kristen (June 15, 2018). "How Queer Eye star Bobby Berk paid off $600,000 in debt in just 6 months". Money.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Anderson, Ashley (December 19, 2013). "Bobby Berk of Bobby Berk Home". Apartment Therapy. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  12. ^ Mulkerim, Tim (March 9, 2018). "Bobby Berk from Queer Eye talks about his reputation as the hardest working member of the Fab Five". Mic. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  13. ^ NewlyWish Spotlight: Bobby Berk Home. NewlyWish. October 18, 2010. 1:39 minutes in minutes in. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "About Bobby Berk". Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  15. ^ TaylorSwiftVEVO (June 17, 2019), Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down, retrieved June 17, 2019
  16. ^ Moreau, Jordan (November 13, 2023). "Bobby Berk Leaving Netflix's 'Queer Eye' After Season 8". Variety. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Chi, Paul (January 25, 2024). "Bobby Berk Explains Why He's Really Leaving Queer Eye". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  18. ^ "See the moment this college graduating class found out their loans will be paid off". TODAY.com. May 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Allen, Kelly (June 26, 2023). "Everything We Know About Bobby Berk and Dewey Do's Relationship". House Beautiful. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Fecteau, Jessica (July 17, 2018). "Queer Eye's Bobby Berk Shows Off the 'Homey and Lush' L.A. Loft He Shares with His Husband". Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  21. ^ Bobby Berk on 'Queer Eye,' Moving to Portugal, and 20 Years with His Husband, retrieved February 25, 2024
  22. ^ Horton, Alex; Wang, Amy B (October 2019). "'Why do guys feel so threatened by the idea of a woman president?' Warren-backing John Legend wonders". The Washington Post.
  23. ^ a b Martin, Annie (June 24, 2020). "'Queer Eye' stars say Supreme Court LGBTQ ruling is 'step in right direction'". United Press International. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
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