Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Beker, Jeanne
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1952-present
History
Jeanne Beker was born March 19, 1952 in Toronto, Ontario. She attended William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute. She first launched her career as an actor, landing a role in the CBC Television sitcom Toby in 1968. She entered the theatre program at York University, and then went to Paris to study mime under Étienne Decroux. She then returned to Canada, working for CBC Radio as an arts and entertainment reporter in St. John's while pursuing her theatrical career.
Beker returned to Toronto in 1978, producing daily lifestyle and entertainment features for 1050 CHUM. She launched Citytv's music magazine show The NewMusic in 1979 as co-host with J. D. Roberts and also became an entertainment reporter for CityPulse. She briefly hosted Rockflash news segments on MuchMusic when that station was launched, hosted MovieTelevision, and produced segments for Entertainment Tonight. In 1995, Beker launched @Fashion, the Internet's first-ever fashion website, for American communication giant MCI. From 1985 to 2012 Beker hosted FashionTelevision. From 2012 to 2014 Beker hosted fashion and entertainment segments for Bell Media properties including CTV News, Canada AM and The Marilyn Denis Show. Simultaneously, Beker wrote articles on fashion and style for the Toronto Star, The Kit and The Loop.
Beker is currently a columnist for The Globe and Mail.
She also launched her own fashion line in 2001 "Jeanne Beker" for Eaton's, and "Inside Out by Jeanne Beker" with Sears Canada. Beginning in 2010, Beker released a clothing line entitled 'Edit by Jeanne Beker' at The Bay. In 2013, Beker released a line of footwear with retailer The Shoe Company and a line of eyewear through FYSH UK. In 2014, Beker launched a capsule collection of clothing, fashion jewelry and eyewear with Rogers Media electronic retailer The Shopping Channel. In 2015, Beker launched the weekly live television program Style Matters with Jeanne Beker for The Shopping Channel.