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Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha at Louis Vuitton
Born	(1988-09-10) September 10, 1988 (age 23) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Blue
Measurements	33-24-34 (US); 84-61-86.5 (EU)[1]
Dress size	4 (US); 34 (EU)[1]
Manager	ModelQuest (mother agency) Wilhelmina Models Storm Model Management Elite Milan Elite Toronto Elite Copenhagen UNO Barcelona Marylin Agency Model Management Hamburg Specs Model Management
Spouse	James Conran
Website
http://www.cocorocha.com

Coco Rocha (born Mikhaila Rocha on September 10, 1988) is a Canadian fashion model.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Rocha was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Richmond, British Columbia where she attended McRoberts Secondary School.^[2] Her family is in the airline industry. Her mother, Juanita, is a flight attendant and her father, Trevor Haines,^[3] is a ticket manager. She has one step sister named Lynsey. She is of Irish, Russian, and Welsh descent.^[4]

Rocha is one of the few models who has spoken out against the prevalence of eating disorders in the modelling industry. In an open letter to the New York Times, Coco spoke out on her blog about the pressure the fashion industry puts on young models "How can any person justify an aesthetic that reduces a woman or child to an emaciated skeleton? Is it art? Surely fashion’s aesthetic should enhance and beautify the human form, not destroy it." [1] In an email to the Associated Press, she gives an insight into the fashion world, saying: "I'll never forget the piece of advice I got from people in the industry when they saw my new body ... They said, 'You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don't want you to be anorexic but that's what we want you to look like.^[5]

Rocha married James Conran on June 9, 2010.^[6] Her wedding dress was designed by Zac Posen.

Career[link]

In 2002, agent Charles Stuart approached Rocha at an Irish dance competition and asked her if she would consider modelling for him. At that point, she had never thought of modelling before.^[7] When she did begin to model, her knowledge of fashion was limited.^[4] She eventually gained insight into the fashion world after her best friends crammed in fashion study sessions in between studying for exams.^[4]

Rocha started her professional career in 2004, signing with SUPREME in New York City. Two years later, Rocha met fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Soon, she was featured in an editorial with Gemma Ward and Amanda Moore. The editorial kickstarted her career, landing her the cover of the February 2006 issue of Vogue Italia. The week after, she walked the Spring/Summer 2006 New York City runways for a handful of designers, most notably Anna Sui and Marc Jacobs. Backstage at the Anna Sui show, Rocha met model Naomi Campbell, who held her hands and told her she was "her new favourite model".^[8] After the New York Fashion Week, she soon followed by taking part in the Paris Fashion Week as well. She walked for esteemed designers like Stella McCartney, Shiatzy Chen, Christian Lacroix, and Emanuel Ungaro, and was chosen by Marc Jacobs to open and close his Louis Vuitton show.^{[citation needed]}

During Jean Paul Gaultier's Scottish Highlands-inspired Fall/Winter 2007 show in February 2007, Rocha opened the show by Irish-dancing down the runway; American Vogue dubbed this the "Coco Moment" and suggested it as a sign that the fashion industry misses the "supermodels".^[9]

In the May 2007, issue of Vogue (US), she was featured on the cover with fellow models Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Jessica Stam, Hilary Rhoda, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson as the new crop of supermodels.^[10] In 2008 casting agent James Scully, who is responsible to pick which model is to score a spot on top runways, says in regards to Rocha:

Rocha has been on the covers of many top fashion magazines including American, Mexican, Korean, Italian, Japanese, and Brazilian Vogue, Flare, Fashion, Numéro, French, W, Harper's Bazaar, Dazed & Confused, i-D, Time Style & Design, among others.^[2]

Since her debut, Rocha has been the face of a variety of advertising campaigns including Versace, Americana Manhasset, Balenciaga, Chanel, D&G, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Lanvin, The Gap, Ports 1961, Tommy Hilfiger, Yves Saint Laurent, Esprit, Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Nicole Farhi, DeBeers, Zac Posen, and Rimmel. She has appeared in editorials for American, Italian, Korean, French, Russian, Spanish, Brazilian, Japanese, Mexican, and British Vogue, British, Canadian, Czech, French, Quebec, and Italian Elle V,^{[disambiguation needed ]} W, French, Korean, and Japanese Numéro, British and Japanese Dazed & Confused, i-D, Time Style & Design, and Ukrainian, Russian, Korean, and American Harpers Bazaar^[2]

Vogue Paris declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.^[12]

In July 2010, Rocha appeared on vogue.co.uk every day for the entire month in the feature Today I'm Wearing. She followed in the footsteps of Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo to showcase her fashion and style choices each day. The following month, Rocha appeared on a billboard in Times Square for an ad campaign with Marie Claire magazine in partnership with Project Runway in which she modelled a contestant's winning design.

In October 2010, Coco Rocha was one of a handful of high fashion models mentioned on Kanye West's "Christian Dior Denim Flow." [2] Also in October 2010, Coco Rocha was given Marie Claire's Prix d’Excellence as their model of the year at a ceremony in Paris, France. [3]

In November 2010, Rocha was awarded the Seventeen Body Peace award by Seventeen magazine. Rocha contributed a number of articles to Seventeen magazine on the topic of girls body image and self esteem. [4][5]

Rocha hosted the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards white carpet.

In February 2011, it was announced that Rocha had written the forward to World-famous fashion guru Jeanne Beker's book "Struttin It!". The book offered a unique insider's look at the reality behind the glitz of the modeling profession. [6]

In March 2011, Coco announced the launch of her new website [cocorocha.com]. The site was said to contain almost 10,000 pictures covering her entire career as a model so far. On February 14, 2011 Coco was awarded the Elle Style award for 'Model of the Year' by Boy George in London, England.[7]

In spring of 2011, it was announced that Rocha would again be the face of a limited edition Karl Lagerfeld designed Coco Cola light campaign. She previously collaborated with Lagerfeld and Coca-Cola in 2010. [8]

In June 2011, Coco announced a partnership with Canadian fashion retailer Jacob for a Photoshop free campaign. On her blog Rocha said she hoped the shoot could "balance the scales a little by pulling so far back from what has been the current trend of total digital model manipulation." [9]

On June 16, 2011, Coco Rocha and husband James Conran both received awards for their philanthropic work at the Pay It Fashion Forward event in Manahattan, NY. [10]

In early July 2011, Coco Rocha revealed the trailer to her short documentary "Letter to Haiti" on her blog. The movie was set to premier in Toronto in October and New York in December 2011. [11]

In July 2011, Coco Rocha became the first high fashion model to be photographed by the Lytro Camera, the camera takes what the company calls a “living picture,” meaning that it captures enough visual information in a single exposure so that the focus and zoom can be adjusted even after the picture is taken. Rocha said she reached out to the company after reading about them on the website Mashable. [12][13]

In August 2011, it was announced that Coco would be the face of an upcoming Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's collection. [14]

On October 11, 2011 Coco Rocha appeared on Anderson Cooper's daytime television show "Anderson" where she said models are scouted too young and put under pressure to stay thin and behave in a way they wouldn't naturally while they're "still minors". [15]

On October 19, 2011 she appeared as a guest judge alongside Tyra Banks where she was frequently referred to as "The Queen of Posing" on "America's Next Top Model."

On November 1, 2011 Coco launched Coco Rocha for Senhoa, a collection produced together with Senhoa, an organization helping Cambodian survivors of human trafficking. The capsule collection contained 7 unique pieces designed by Rocha and hand crafted by the survivors of human trafficking. All proceeds go directly back into the Senhoa program. To help raise awareness for the cause, Rocha brought on some additional model power with the help of friends Chanel Iman, Caroline Trentini, and Behati Prinsloo. In the first of two campaigns, Iman, Trentini and Rocha were photographed by Nigel Barker[16]

In mid-February 2012, Coco appeared in a commercial for White House Black Market created by New York advertising agency ceft and company in which she was featured tap-dancing.

In April 2012, Coco Rocha became the first high fashion model to have more than 1 million followers on the social media platform Google+.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coco Rocha

• Official website
• Coco Rocha at the Fashion Model Directory
• Coco Rocha's Fashion Picks on Who What Wear
• Coco Rocha's Official Blog

Craig Ferguson
Performing stand-up in New York City, 2007
Born	(1962-05-17) May 17, 1962 (age 50) Glasgow, Scotland
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books
Nationality	Scotland; United States
Years active	1980–present
Genres	Observational comedy, satire/political satire/news satire
Subject(s)	Everyday life, popular culture, self-deprecation, politics
Spouse	Anne Hogarth (1983–86) (divorced) Sascha Corwin (1998–2004) (divorced) 1 child Megan Wallace-Cunningham (2008–present) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show Glaswegian in One Foot in the Grave Gobber in How to Train Your Dragon
Website	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962^[1]) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.^[2]

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life[link]

Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied".^[3][4] When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II.^[4] Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School.^[5] At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.^[6]

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City.^[7] When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem.^[8][9] Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.^[10]

Career[link]

British career[link]

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell.^[11] The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.^[12] Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.^[3]

After a nerve-wrecking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland."^[3] The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started with the monogram of "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"),^[12] premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s;^[13] a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

Ferguson's first television appearance was as Confidence on BBC sitcom Red Dwarf during the episode "Confidence and Paranoia".

Ferguson made his starring television debut in The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood.^[14] This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.^[15]

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson appeared on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show,^[16] his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective.^[17] He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

U.S. career[link]

After cancellation of his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast on The Drew Carey Show as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, a role that he played from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically called out James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his "revenge". (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always "firing Johnson", the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers.^[18] Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 2004.

During production of The Drew Carey Show, Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in-between shooting his scenes. He wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts that, "... in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made."^[19] His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, Born Romantic, The Ugly Truth, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass and Winnie the Pooh.

Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a stand-up comedy show, and performed at Carnegie Hall on 23 October 2010.

[edit] The Late Late Show

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on 3 January 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ... He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."^[18]

The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[20] In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.^[21]

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.^[22]

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show.^[18]

Television and appearances[link]

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Show, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Soup, The Talk and The Dennis Miller Show. He also co-hosted Live with Regis & Kelly with Kelly Ripa.

On 4 January 2009 Ferguson was a celebrity player on Million Dollar Password.

Ferguson in April 2008

In 2009, Ferguson made a cameo live-action appearance in the episode "We Love You, Conrad" on Family Guy. Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on 10 January 2006.^[23] TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.^{[citation needed]} From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on 4 July, broadcast nationally by CBS. Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.^[24]

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008. He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of American Dad; in Freakazoid! as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor; and on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on Futurama, which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle. He makes stand-up appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled A Wee Bit o' Revolution, which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama Doc Martin was based on a character from Ferguson's film Saving Grace – with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes.^[25] On 6 November 2009 Ferguson appeared as himself in a SpongeBob SquarePants special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square.^[26] He hosted Discovery Channel's 23rd season of Shark Week in 2010. Ferguson briefly appeared in Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" music video released on 10 October 2011. ^[27]

Literature[link]

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it."^[28] Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."^{[citation needed]} His novel Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son and to his grandfather, Adam. Ferguson revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi".^[29] He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends for the book to be the first in a trilogy.^[30]

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs.^[31] The book, entitled American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States.^[32][33] On 1 December 2010 the audiobook version was nominated for a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy.^[34]

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on The Late Late Show to promote her new book Married Lovers. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.^[35]

Personal life[link]

As mentioned on The Late Late Show on 3 August 2009, Ferguson holds an FAA Private Pilot's License issued 31 July 2009.^[36] Ferguson announced on the 8 April 2011 broadcast that he is pursuing an instrument rating.

Ferguson is a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C.^[12] as well as the British television show Doctor Who. He has three tattoos: his latest, the Join, or Die political cartoon on his right forearm;^[37][38] a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto Dulcius ex asperis ("Sweeter out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father;^[39] and the Ingram family crest on his upper left arm in honour of his mother. He has often stated that his Join, or Die tattoo is to signal his patriotism.^[37]

Family[link]

In an episode of The Late Late Show that aired 8 December 2008, a somber Ferguson talked about his mother, Janet (3 August 1933 – 1 December 2008). He ended the program by playing her favourite song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.^[40]

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother.^[41] His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson Tweddle, is also a successful comedienne, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film Chicken Run. She is currently a writer on The Late Late Show.

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues". His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, and live near each other in Los Angeles. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont.^[42] Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they were expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ... oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles."^[43] The child, a boy named Liam James, was born 31 January 2011.^[44]

Alcoholism[link]

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992.^[45] Because of this, he declared he wouldn't mock Britney Spears' much-publicized alcohol problems in 2007.^[46] He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.^[3]

Citizenship[link]

Holding dual citizenship, Ferguson is both a naturalized citizen of the United States and a British citizen.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used The Late Late Show as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy.^[47] Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008^[2] and broadcast the taking of his citizenship test as well as his swearing in on The Late Late Show.

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Between the Bridge and the River. Chronicle Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8118-5375-0. 
• American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. HarperCollins. 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-171954-7. 

Comedy specials[link]

• A Wee Bit o' Revolution. Comedy Central. 2009.
• Does This Need to Be Said? EPIX, Comedy Central. 2011.

Discography[link]

• Live At The Tron (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records. 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Craig Ferguson

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Craig Ferguson

• Craig Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database
• Craig Ferguson on Twitter
• Craig Ferguson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Craig Ferguson and Megan Wallace Cunningham
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (May 2010)

Jean Paul Gaultier
Born	(1952-04-24) 24 April 1952 (age 60) Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Fashion designer
Labels	Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès

Jean Paul Gaultier (French: [ʒɑ̃ pɔl ɡotje]; born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010.^[1] In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash.

Life and career[link]

Gaultier never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. Afterwards he worked with Jacques Esterel in 1971 and Jean Patou later that year, then returning to manage the Pierre Cardin boutique in Manila for a year in 1974.^[2]

His first individual collection was released in 1976 and his characteristic irreverent style dates from 1981, and he has long been known as the enfant terrible of French fashion. Many of Gaultier's following collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his Haute Couture collections, are very formal yet at the same time unusual and playful.

Although most people found his designs decadent at the time, fashion editors, notably Melka Tréanton of Elle, Claude Brouet and Catherine Lardeur of French Marie Claire, were seduced by his creativity and immediately noticed his mastery of tailoring and later launched his career.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} In 1985 he introduced man-skirts, and produced sculptured costumes for Madonna during the nineties, starting with her infamous cone bra for her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, and designed the wardrobe for her 2006 Confessions Tour. Gaultier has also worked in close collaboration with Wolford Hosiery. He promoted the use of skirts, especially kilts on men's wardrobe, and the release of designer collections.

Jean-Paul Gaultier's bread exhibit, Paris, 2004.

Gaultier caused shock by using unconventional models for his exhibitions, like older men and full-figured women, pierced and heavily tattooed models, and by playing with traditional gender roles in the shows. This earned him both criticism and enormous popularity.

At the end of the 1980s, Gaultier suffered some personal losses, including his lover and business partner Francis Menuge, who died of AIDS-related causes.^[8]

Gaultier designed the wardrobe of many motion pictures, including Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, Pedro Almodóvar's Kika, Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children). He currently designs for three collections: his own couture and ready-to-wear lines, for both men and women.

In 1988 Gaultier released a dance single titled "How To Do That" on Fontana records from which came one of the first ever "single title" remix albums "Aow Tou Dou Zat" on Mercury records.^[9] The album includes mixes by Norman Cook, JJ Jeczalik, George Shilling, Mark Saunders, Latin Rascals, David Dorrell, Tim Atkins, Carl Atkins, and Mantronik. Co-written & produced by Tony Mansfield, video directed by Jean Baptiste Mondino. The album also featured a collaboration with accordion player Yvette Horner.

Gaultier has designed a number of the costumes and outfits worn by rocker Marilyn Manson,^[10] including the outfits for Manson's Golden Age of Grotesque album.^[11] In France the costumes he designed for singer Mylène Farmer gained much attention. In spring 2008 he signed a contract to be again the fashion designer for her tour in 2009.

He's also well known for his exhibit in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art known as Bravehearts — Men in Skirts.^[12]