Desiree Gruber (born June 25, 1967) is an American television producer and entrepreneur. She was the executive producer of the fashion reality television competition Project Runway[1][2] and the co-creator of Theodora and Callum, "an accessories-based line inspired by world travel."[3] She is also the founder and CEO of a production company, Full Picture.[4][5]
Early life and career
Gruber was born on June 25, 1967, in Miami, Florida.[6][7][8][9] In an interview with Daily Front Row, Gruber said that her father was a businessman and a green beret and he had her enrolled in ROTC when she was in college, which helped her build leadership skills.[10]
She started her professional career as an assistant in the A&R department for EMI Records in 1989, and as the general assistant on the New Music Seminar in 1990.[11]
In 1999, she left Rogers & Cowan to establish her own production company, Full Picture.[15][16] In the beginning, her works included Victoria's Secret supermodel Heidi Klum and designer Roberto Cavalli. She developed a reality television series Project Runway along with Klum and Full Picture's executive Jane Cha.[10] She had also done some advising to supermodel Naomi Campbell.[17][18]
In 2016, she joined Nir Liberboim to co-found DGNL Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund that has invested in brands including Living Proof, Songza, and Fashion GPS (Launchmetrics).[19][20][21][22]
Gruber currently serves on the New York regional board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.[25][26] She is also a board member of "God's Love We Deliver", which provides meals for people living with life-threatening illnesses.[25][27]
Personal life
Gruber met and began a relationship with actor Kyle MacLachlan in 1999.[28][29] They married on April 20, 2002.[9] Their son, Callum Lyon MacLachlan, was born in Los Angeles in 2008.[8] The family has residences in Los Angeles and New York.[30][31] They have two dogs, Mookie and Sam.[32][33]
Awards and recognition
Gruber was one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs of 2010.[34] As an executive producer, Gruber was part of Project Runway, which was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards in Outstanding Reality Television Program,[35] received a Peabody Award in 2007,[36] a GLAAD Media Award, and "has also been honored with over twenty media industry awards."[3][37]