Jeanne Beker
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Jeanne Beker

Iconic Fashion Journalist

Jeanne Beker is one of the most influential women in the fashion industry — in Canada and around the world. A long-time celebrity, Beker speaks on how she rose to the top of arts and culture media as the iconic host of TV’s Fashion Television, along with what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

Beker started her professional “show biz” career at just 16 years old when she moved to New York to study acting, and then to Paris to study mime. She joined CBC Radio in 1975 covering arts in St. John’s, Newfoundland before moving to Toronto three years later to work at CHUM radio. In 1979, Beker helped launch the ground-breaking series The New Music on Citytv, which she co-hosted for six years, and became a founding member of MuchMusic. Beker launched the legendary Fashion Television in 1985, which she hosted for 27 years, and which was aired in over 130 countries.

A seasoned newspaper columnist and features writer, Beker was editor-in-chief of FQ and SIR magazines from 2003 to 2008. She has also authored five books, is a frequent guest on myriad lifestyle shows, and has been at the creative helm of numerous fashion lines under her own eponymous label. Since 2015, Beker has been the style editor at The Shopping Channel, where she currently hosts the series, Style Matters.

Active with several charitable organizations, Beker has received honourary doctorates from St. Mary’s University and OCAD University. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including a Special Achievement Award from the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television and a Crystal Award from Toronto Women in Film and Television.

In 2014, Beker was named to the Order of Canada, and she was inducted into the American Marketing Association’s Hall of Legends in 2015. She also received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2016.

Growing Up in the Shadow of the Holocaust

Children of survivors are left with legacies as powerfully daunting as they are inspiring. As young Polish Jews, Jeanne Beker’s parents survived the Holocaust by their own wits and the kindness of strangers. After unspeakable loss and profound pain, they managed to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, and, in 1948, venture to a new country, Canada. They didn’t know the language and had little more than the shirts on their backs but with dogged determination, hard work, courage, and faith, they eventually re-built their lives.

Beker, who grew up listening to her parent’s stories, attributes her personal and professional success to her upbringing. It taught her about fearlessness, tenacity, dreaming, believing, hard work, and, above all, resiliency.

*Available as a keynote or fireside chat

Jeanne Beker: Forging Her Own Path

From the outset of her career, Jeanne Beker was determined to “have it all.” She became a media trailblazer, known for keeping her listeners, viewers, and readers abreast of the shifting cultural landscape, reporting directly from the trenches.

In show business for 50 years now, Beker reflects on her distinctive multi-faceted, multi-media career as a fashion reporter, television personality, and creator of her own fashion lines. She accomplished all this while building her now internationally recognized brand — long before “personal branding” was a common buzz phrase — and raising her family.

Crediting her “nose to the grindstone” attitude and strong work ethic for her success, Beker recounts the highs (and lows) of her life and career thus far, inspiring her audiences to dream big.

*Available as a keynote or fireside chat

Celebrity Services

Jeanne Beker is represented by The Spotlight Agency for sponsorships, endorsements, public relations and media spokesperson campaigns, product launches, voiceovers, celebrity appearances, and more.  Please visit The Spotlight Agency for more details.