FASHION expert, actor, and designer Carson Kressley made a name for himself when he first appeared as a clothing expert on Queer Eye in 2003.
He has since gone on to appear in another fashion show, How to Look Good Naked, and performed on Dancing With The Stars alongside Anna Trebunskaya.
Carson Kressley, 52, entered the world of fashion while working for Ralph Lauren from 1994 to 2002.
His reputation preceded him and he earned a spot as a top fashion consultant on Queer Eye for The Straight Guy.
Kressley is originally from Pennsylvania where he grew up and he later attended Gettysburg College where he received his undergraduate degree in 1991.
Gettysburg College drew Kressley in immediately, but while attending the school, he said he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.
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He majored in business with a minor in fine arts and art history and sculpture and said it provided him with a well-rounded experience.
“I think that’s what a liberal arts education is,” Kressley said on a Gettysburg College podcast interview with President Bob Iuliano.
“It’s like being very balanced and well-rounded and not so narrow, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
Kressley arrived in New York City the day after he graduated with a job lined up in the nonprofit sector, but after several years he decided he wanted to be able to afford luxuries and switched to the profit sector.
He bounced from one position to the next, from the US Equestrian Federation to Ralph Lauren and ultimately film and television.
When people asked him what his five-year plan was, Kressley said he had no idea.
“I would always say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing on Tuesday,'” he told Iuliano, adding, “I was not that organized. But I followed my passion and my heart and I had the good fortune of having a very solid education.”
He continued: “I just kind of chose jobs that thought… That I thought were a good fit and sounded interesting to me.”
It wasn’t until 2002 that Kressley got his big break while working at Ralph Lauren.
He was told he would be a good fit for a fashion advisor in the upcoming reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and his boss, Liz Paley, pushed him to audition.
He said Paley told him: “You should try it and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll hire you back,” prompting him to leave his position and audition for the role.
A year later, Kressley was interviewing on The Tonight Show and Queer Eye had received a Primetime Emmy.
Following his role on Queer Eye from 2003 to 2007, Kressley went on to host the Lifetime show, How to Look Good Naked, and appeared on season 13 of Dancing with the Stars.
Kressley became a New York Times Best Selling author for his books Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Off the Cuff.
He has authored five books and wrote his first in 2005 titled You’re Different and That’s Super.
The book focuses on children who are gay and delves into growing up that way and helping them to become comfortable in their own skin.
“… The number one message to young people is that you are exactly who you’re supposed to be and there’s nothing to be ashamed of and there’s a community out there that will love and support you even if you’re not finding that maybe at home,” Kressley said on the podcast.
Kressley has written other inspirational titles, including Off the Cuff: The Essential Style Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them and as of 2022 has a net worth of $8million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
His most recent book was published in 2016, titled A Cheeky Guide to Feeling Sexier in Your Own Skin and Unleashing Your Personal Style.
“I wanted it to be a road map for women to find their own style,” Kressley told The Morning Call ahead of the book’s release.
“Too many women are stressed out getting dressed in the morning. I want to take the stress out of it and put the fun back in fashion.”
He continued: “Instead of me saying what women should be buying, they need to find out what works best for them.
“It’s not so much about what you should wear as it is about what makes you feel fabulous.”
Kressley keeps his personal life quiet, with only rumors circulating about his relationship status.
Rumors surfaced that Kressley is dating Chuck Stanley, who he chose on The Celebrity Dating Game in 2021, although he has not responded to the speculation.
After the show aired he shared that he was still “in touch” with Chuck, but not much else is known about their relationship.
Fans previously speculated that there was an ongoing romance with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy interior design expert, Thom Filicia.
“We actually met at the gym, which is unbelievable because these bodies were built on rigatoni,” he told Bravo in 2018.
“And then we did Queer Eye, so we’re great friends … and we’re more like brothers and we kind of grew up together in New York City … no, we have never been romantically involved,” he said.
Kressley came out to his family in 2003, right before Queer Eye was going to air, saying he didn’t want them to find out he was gay from the TV Guide.
He told the Gettysburg College podcast that the show was instrumental in coming out to his family.
“Literally, I remember making episodes. My mom’s like, ‘Now, what is this called?’ And, I’m like, ‘We don’t really have a name for it yet. It’s a makeover show.’
“And then, the show was getting ready to air, and about a month before we were going to be on the cover of TV Guide and I think it was coming out on a Tuesday and I was like, ‘I better go home to Pennsylvania on this weekend and before Tuesday rolls around and tell them that I’m gay.'”
The decision to tell his family was the best thing he did for himself, he said because it allowed him to be true to who he is.
He added: “I tell young people all the time, ‘You will be the most successful version of yourself when you are your most authentic version of yourself.'”
