Tim Gunn

Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne (now Kate Spade & Company) as its chief creative officer. Over 16 seasons, Gunn has become well known as the on-air mentor to designers on the reality television program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to two spin-off shows; Bravo's Tim Gunn's Guide to Style and Lifetime's Under the Gunn, as well as five books. In addition to being an executive producer, Gunn has served as mentor for the teen designers on Project Runway: Junior. He also provides the voice of Baileywick, the castle steward in the Disney Junior television show Sofia the First and narrated the sitcom Mixology. Early life Gunn was born in Washington, D.C. His father worked in the FBI where he started off as an agent but transitioned into becoming a ghostwriter and speechwriter for J. Edgar Hoover. Gunn attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design, receiving a BFA in sculpture. Gunn, who had identified as gay, was raised in an intensely homophobic household where homosexuals were viewed as predators. According to a video Gunn created for the It Gets Better Project, he attempted suicide at the age of 17 by swallowing over 100 pills. He denied his sexual orientation until his early 20s, and did not share it with his family until he came out to his sister when he was 29. Career After serving as director of admissions for the Corcoran, Gunn started working at Parsons in 1982, served as associate dean from 1989 to 2000, and then became Fashion Design Department chair in August 2000. He was credited with "retooling and invigorating the curriculum for the 21st century."