John Gidding
John Gidding | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 7, 1977 |
| Occupation(s) | Television personality, designer, model |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse |
Damian Smith
(m. 2013, divorced) |
John Gidding (born January 7, 1977) is a Turkish-American designer, television personality, and former fashion model.
Gidding started modeling in 2000 as a graduate student, performing runway shows for Armani, Gucci, and Hugo Boss before being represented by Wilhelmina Models in New York City. Before entering the design profession, Gidding was the spokesmodel for Jhane Barnes in 2004 and 2005. He has also been on the covers of numerous romance novels.
He was voted one of "Yale's 50 Most Beautiful People" in 1999 by Rumpus Magazine, one of "Boston's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors" by The Improper Bostonian in 2002, one of "Atlanta's 50 Most Beautiful People" by Jezebel Magazine and as one of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles's "Emerging Talent: Twenty Under 40" in 2008.[1]
Biography[edit]
Gidding was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to an American father and a Turkish mother.[2][3][4]
He lived in Turkey until moving to the United States for college after attending Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland. He graduated from Yale University in 1999 with a BA in architecture, then the Harvard Graduate School of Design with a Master's in architecture. At Yale he sang a cappella with The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, and choral music with the Yale Glee Club, and at Harvard he sang with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum.
Gidding moved to New York City, where he started John Gidding Design, Inc. after working for two years as a designer for Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.
Gidding's start in television was with the ABC Family TV show Knock First, where he and three other designers took turns making over teenagers' bedrooms. Designed to Sell (Giddings' previous show from 2006 to 2011) was cancelled in early 2011 by HGTV, and Knock First is still running in syndication internationally.
He is best known as the designer on Curb Appeal: The Block[1] where his team spent $20,000 on improvements to the exterior and landscaping of chosen homeowners. Less expensive touch-ups were done for 2 or 3 nearby neighbors' homes to improve overall neighborhood property values. In 2015 he was one of the expert judges on the Fox TV show Home Free. He joined the reboot of Trading Spaces, joining the cast alongside Paige Davis and Vern Yip. He is currently back on HGTV, with a relaunch of the popular franchise, Curb Appeal Xtreme.
Personal life[edit]
Gidding was married to ballet dancer Damian Smith.[5] The two later divorced.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Beck, Rob (April 2008). "Designed to sell in the ATL". Southern Voice Atlanta (archive). Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ 2013 Mid-Atlantic Home & Garden Show. "John Gidding". Retrieved 04/06/2013
- ^ The Buffalo Home & Garden Show. "Celebrity Designer John Gidding" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-13. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ NY Daily News. "The Closer: Wall Street's top retail". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ Hertz, Leba (14 August 2013). "Damian Smith retiring from SF Ballet after 18 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Rule, Doug (January 10, 2019). "Well Designed: An Interview with Trading Spaces' John Gidding". Metro Weekly.
External links[edit]
- 1977 births
- Turkish people of American descent
- Turkish emigrants to the United States
- American male models
- American architects
- American LGBT entertainers
- American LGBT models
- Living people
- Yale University alumni
- Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
- Turkish LGBT entertainers
- Turkish LGBT models
- Turkish male models
- LGBT architects
- Gay models
- LGBT people from New York (state)
- Turkish architects
- American expatriates in Switzerland
- Turkish expatriates in Switzerland
- Gay entertainers