Host of 'Fixer Upper'

Joanna Gaines | Biography 2021

Co-founder, Co-owner of Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, Magnolia Realty

• By Puja Bhetwal
• Update : June 15, 2021

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Joanna Gaines is an American businesswoman, television personality, author, co-founder, and co-owner of Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Realty, all located in Waco, Texas.

Who is Joanna Gaines?

Joanna Gaines earned a bachelor's degree in Communications from Baylor University and was interested in pursuing a career in design while interning in New York City. Gaines decided to launch Magnolia Market, a home decor business in Waco, Texas, in 2003 to bring back her NYC-inspired ideas and eye for design back to her hometown.

Gaines and her husband, Chip Gaines, are the founders and co-owners of Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Realty, in Waco, Texas. In 2013, the couple hosted the home design and renovation series Fixer Upper for HGTV, in which Gaines was the head designer, and Chips handled construction work. The show aired for five seasons.

Apart from filming for Fixer Upper, Gaines launched her cooking show Magnolia Table and Joanna Gaines in 2021, which is in the second season. Gaines had also authored several books. 

Early life and Education

Joanna Gaines was born on 19 April 1978 in Kansas and raised in the Lone Star State. Joanna Gaines' mother, Nan, is a Korean, and her father is half-German and half-Lebanese, making Gaines one-half Korean and one-quarter each Lebanese and German.

Being the great example of a strong marriage, Gaines' mother met her father in Korea in 1969, and "their story is one you hear about in the movies," Joanna stated in an Instagram post. Despite many odds that piled up before them, they persevered and became an example of how to love, fight for, offer grace to, and honor one another despite their numerous differences.

Gaines was bullied in her childhood because of her ethnicity. She had a tough time understanding people and appreciating her origin, especially because her family had to move very frequently due to her father's employment with Firestone Tires. When Gaines was studying at Baylor University, she received an internship to work for Dan Rather on 48 Hours in New York City. At that time, Gaines learned to accept her roots, partly because she was homesick and missed her mother.

Early Career

Her career in media began after she got her first taste of being on camera while filming ads for her father's automotive company.

All of the joy she had filming those ads prompted her to get interested in broadcast journalism. She then went to college and took Communication as her key subject. By the end of her senior year, Gaines landed a journalism internship in New York City.

Gaines, though, said she was no longer interested in being a journalist after returning home from her semester in New York City. She shared, "When that semester ended, I can remember feeling as though I'd just wasted four years working toward a degree that was no longer of any interest to me," and added, "I returned to Waco with no plan beyond the fact that I no longer wanted to be a news reporter."

'Fixer Upper'

Joanna Gains and her husband, Chip Gaines, an entrepreneur, and contractor, starred in Fixer Upper, and the first episode of the show was aired on 23 May 2013. 

In a typical Fixer Upper episode, the couple presented three properties that required repair to potential buyers (typically couples). Following the purchaser's selection of a home, Gaines designed it to their specifications, while Chip and his Magnolia crew work on the construction of the property. Finally, Gaines returned to prepare the property in preparation for the buyers' arrival when the construction and renovations were completed. The pair were known for holding large photographs of the "before" home in front of the newly remodeled home for their reveal parties.

After five seasons, the show came to an end. In August 2020, Chip and Gaines revealed that there would be more on their Magnolia Network. The Fixer Upper show was aired for a total of 79 episodes on HGTV.

Business

Gaines and her husband purchased Little Shop on Bosque in 2003 and launched the first Magnolia Market. She honed her design style and talents at that store, progressed as a business owner, and gained much-needed confidence in Magnolia Market.

The couple then had their first two children, Drake and Ella Rose. Soon, they decided to close the Market to concentrate on expanding and raising their family. They focused on Magnolia Homes, their construction company, during this time until HGTV approached them for the Fixer Upper show. As the show became popular, the couple pulled the gun and reopened the Little Shop on Bosque as Magnolia headquarters housing their office, shop, and restaurant.

'Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines'

Gaines now has her television show, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, and the second season of the show is currently on air. The first season premiered on 4 January 2021, and the second season premiered on 4 April 2021. The show portrays Joanna Gaines spending time in the kitchen sharing her favorite recipes.

Books

Gained had also written many books, including 'The History of Magnolia,' 'Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering,' 'The World Needs Who Were You Made to be,' 'Homebody,' and 'We Are the Gardeners.'

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