Bobby Berk is famously known for starring in the hit Netflix series ‘Queer Eye’ where he is the interior design expert. Not to mention, he is also an Emmy winning TV host, author and interior designer.
Berk was born on August 25, 1981 in Houston, Texas. He was born to a young mother, and was eventually adopted by his maternal aunt and her husband. He spent his childhood in the middle of Amish farm country in Mount Vernon, Missouri where he noted that growing up gay was difficult, as he faced internal and external homophobia.
At the age of 15, the ‘Queer Eye’ star left home, and ended up in Springfield, Missouri. He then got a job at Applebee’s in Branson, and stayed with his friends or slept in his car. Thereafter, he spent his junior year at Kickapoo High School.
He also worked as a telemarketer for MCI Communications where he eventually met his biological father. Before turning 18, Berk moved to Denver, Colorado, then relocated to New York City in 2003.
He landed a job at a high-end home furnishing company, Portico, after gaining work experience at Restoration Hardware and Bed, Bath and Beyond. The TV host then worked his way up to becoming a creative director without a high school diploma or formal training.
As they say, the rest is history, as Berk opened his first store in SoHo, Manhattan within a year after launching his very own online store, Bobby Berk Home, in 2006. Now, he is a well-known interior design expert who runs his own interior design business.
In a recent interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, the 41-year-old interior designer opened up about something that he hid about his career path.
“I wish I would have told that guy to not be ashamed that your journey is different, you know?,” he shared about what he wishes his younger self would have known.
Berk further expressed,
“Because for years, honestly, I hid the fact that I didn’t go to college. And honestly, for years I actually lied and said I did. Because especially on job applications, if you didn’t, you didn’t even get an interview. So, it took me years to actually be proud of the fact that I did it differently and I still achieved success.”
Moreover, he is married to maxillofacial surgeon Dewey Do, and the husbands moved to Los Angeles, California in 2018 after residing in New York City for 15 years.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, cheatsheet.com
I grew up gay in the south as well. Struggled with internal & external homophobia daily. Until my 20th bday I moved to a bigger city and met several gay friends in college who are still my friends I spend time with daily.