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Nate Berkus Bio
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Nate Berkus
Nate Berkus is a highly successful interior designer who rose to fame after becoming a regular guest on Oprah. He made news headlines after he was caught up in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
Nathaniel Berkus was born in 1971 in southern California but spent his formative years in Minneapolis. His mother is the decorator Nancy Golden, famous for her appearances on cable television. Nate took an interest in home design from an early age but always thought of it as a hobby, spending most of his allowance on buying furniture and ornaments for his bedroom.
Gradually, he became established as an authority on the subject and found himself frequently rearranging furniture for his neighbors.
Berkus attended Lake Forest College and studied French and Sociology before entering into an internship with Dominique Aurientis in Paris, France. With the experience he gained from this and a job with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers he went on to establish his own interior design company, Nate Berkus Associates, in Chicago.
Nate Berkus Associates was a success from the start, undertaking projects for Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, Josephine, Lille, Geneva Seal, Niedermeyer, Barney’s New York and W. Hotels, as well as celebrity clients such as Kirstie Alley and Billy Dec. Berkus went on to sell his wares at Linens n' Things stores across North America. In 2001, he was asked to design a set for Oprah Winfrey. The two hit it off and he found himself being asked back regularly to appear on her show as a design expert. He also became a regular contributor to her magazine, O at Home. Further television work has included regular features on the cable channels Home and Garden and Do It Yourself. This led him to become a popular celebrity, dispensing design advice to millions of viewers.
Unfortunately, Berkus' professional success was undercut by private tragedy. In December 2004 he and his partner, photographer Fernando Bengoechea, were vacationing in Sri Lanka when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck. Torn out of bed in their beachfront cottage, they were swept into the sea, managing to grab hold of a telegraph pole only to be pulled loose again by a second wave. With the help of a stranger, Berkus managed to climb onto a roof, but Bengochea was lost and is presumed dead. Berkus spent the remainder of that night in a field with other injured survivors before appearing on television networks the following day to appeal for aid. He later appeared on a special edition of Oprah to talk about the experience and about his loss.
Berkus' work has achieved ongoing critical acclaim as well as popular success. His awards include the 2002 Vox/Out Design and Style Award for Contribution to American Design and the 2003 Fashion Group International's Rule Breakers and Style Makers Award for Interiors. Also in 2003, Crain's Business Magazine placed him among the top forty under forty to watch, and House Beautiful identified him as the Next Wave in Design Talent. He relates his distinctive style to his love of modern culture and modern furniture, urban architecture, and history. In 2005, Berkus published a book. Titled Home Rules: Transform the Place You Live into a Place You'll Love, it’s a step by step guide for those wishing to emulate Berkus’ style within their own homes. Berkus is currently single and lives in Chicago. |
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Yuddy top celebrities
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