Genevieve Gorder is an American television host and interior designer. She is currently the host of Stay Here on Netflix. Previously, she hosted Genevieve's Renovation, "White House Christmas" and Dear Genevieve on the HGTVcable channel. A judge on HGTV's Design Star and she currently resides in Manhattan with her daughter Bebelle.
Early life
Genevieve is the oldest of three children, and the only daughter. Her mother is Diana Drake and father Jon Gorder. She attended Minneapolis South High School, where she played soccer and the violin. From 1992-1994, she attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, majoring in international affairs but decided to change her career path after taking a graphic design course. In 1994, she obtained an internship at MTV in New York City. After completing the internship, MTV offered her a permanent job, which she accepted. She permanently relocated to New York and graduated with a B.F.A in design from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
Personal life
In September 2018, Gorder married Christian Dunbar, an interior designer and furniture builder. Prior to her marriage to Dunbar, Genevieve was married to actor Tyler Harcott, with whom she has a daughter, Bebelle.
Career
Before being known as a designer, she appeared as a commentator on the MTV series, Sex in the '90s. She was one of the original designers of the TLC's hit series Trading Spaces. During her tenure at Duffy & Partners, in New York City, Gorder designed the bottle for Tanqueray No. 10 gin. She became famous on Trading Spaces and quickly became known for her soulful designs and her unusual habit of working barefoot. She parodied her lack of footwear in a series of Swiffer sweeper commercials that started running on television and in periodicals in 2003. She has always explained that her preference for working barefoot was in order not to ruin shoes, and not for comfort reasons. In addition to her role on Trading Spaces, she was a designer for a spinoff show, Trading Spaces: Family. In 2005, she made-over several small American towns for her own show, Town Haul.
Dear Genevieve
Genevieve's next project, Dear Genevieve, premiered on HGTV in January 2009. The show featured Gorder solving design problems, in-person, for people who had written in to the program.
Design Star
Genevieve was one of three judges on the design panel of HGTV Design Star. The show featured Gorder advising and critiquing designers looking to achieve status on television. She appeared in 25 episodes of HGTV Design Star between 2009 and 2012.
HGTV White House Christmas
Genevieve hosted HGTV's White House Christmas in 2015. In this special, Genevieve gave viewers a tour of the Christmas decorations at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Genevieve's Renovation
Genevieve starred in this show about the renovation of her own life and home in Manhattan. It premiered in July 2014 and ran for six episodes. The series was a personal look at what it is to be a designer, and a reverse client as she designs for herself and her daughter.
Stay Here
On August 17, 2018, Stay Here launched on Netflix. This eight episode series featured Genevieve Gorder and Peter Lorimer working together to help Airbnb and VRBO hosts redecorate and market their rental properties. Gorder is also credited as an executive producer for the series.
