Tan France

British-born Tan France was a well-regarded women's wear design in his native England before the Netflix series "Queer Eye" (2018- ) made him a household name throughout the world. Born Tanweer Wasim Safdar on April 20, 1983 in South Yorkshire, England, he developed an interest in fashion at the age of seven years, due in part to his grandparents' factory, which produced denim products for the Walt Disney Company. He learned to sew while working at the factory during his summer breaks, and applied his hands-on experience to his studies to a degree in fashion at Doncaster College. Upon graduation, France worked for the Spanish fashion retailer Zara SA and later, the Selfridges department store chain and Shade Clothing before launching his own clothing line, Kingdom & State in 2011. The company, which produced what France called modest but fashionable women's wear, won rave reviews from loyal customers across the globe, but France himself earned even greater praise and exposure when he joined "Queer Eye," a reboot of the popular series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (Bravo 2003-07). As the series' style adviser, France presented practical but appealing fashion for its subjects, whose sartorial sense was often blunted by disinterest or lack of options. "Queer Eye" netted four Creative Arts Emmys for its first season, while France's Instagram page drew in 1.5 million followers after the show's debut.