Darren Kennedy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Darren Kennedy
Darren Kennedy.jpg
Born (1981-01-12) 12 January 1981 (age 41)
Dublin, Ireland
EducationDublin Institute of Technology, University of Bordeaux, Central St Martins
OccupationTV presenter, stylist, Entrepreneur
Years active2006–present
EmployerRTÉ, BBC, ITV
Height6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)
Websitehttp://www.darrenkennedy.co.uk/

Darren Kennedy (born 12 January 1981)[1] is an Irish television presenter,[2] columnist and entrepreneur from Dublin,[3] now based in London.[4] He has worked for RTÉ, ITV, BBC and Channel 5.[5] He is the creator & co-founder of the skin and hair care brand Kennedy & Co.

Career[]

Broadcasting[]

Kennedy began his career in Ireland as a reporter on the Gerry Ryan show 2FM and Operation Transformation on RTÉ One,[6] and hosted celebrity entertainment series #Trending on RTÉ 2[7] and regularly presented on ITV 1's This Morning[8] alongside Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. He co-created and presented 'Gay Daddy',[9][10] and co-presented and devised The Unemployables series with Jennifer Maguire.[11] Well known and respected for his aesthetic & sense of style, his home was featured in Celebrity Home of The Year on RTE One. In March 2020, he was announced as one of the Fab Five on BBC One's new flagship fashion makeover series You Are What You Wear with Rylan Clark.[12] In January 2021, he took part in Celebrity Mastermind raising money for his chosen charity BeLonG To Youth Services.

Dancing with the Stars[]

In 2019, Kennedy took part in the third series of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with Karen Byrne, they competed into the 5th week and were the third couple to be eliminated from the competition.[13]

Professional partner
Karen Byrne; Average: 16.5; Place: 9th
Week No. Dance/Song Judges' score Total Result
Redmond Barry Benson
1 Tango / "Sharp Dressed Man" 5 5 6 16 No elimination
2 No dance performed - - - -
3 Jive / "Fun, Fun, Fun" 4 5 5 14 Safe
4 Charleston / "I Wanna Be Like You" 6 6 6 18 Safe
5 Salsa / "María" 6 6 6 18 Eliminated

Fashion[]

He designed a contemporary suiting and outerwear collection in collaboration with Irish tailor Louis Copeland which produced six sell-out collections.[14] He is a fashion ambassador for the UK highstreet optician Specsavers.[15][16] He regularly works with some of the world's most influential brands including Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Topman. He has hosted for BAFTA, GQ, several seasons of London Fashion Week Festival for the British Fashion Council and live on the red carpet for the Brit Awards. Darren also regularly contributes to magazine.

Entrepreneur[]

Kennedy's first solo venture was in his early twenties when he established a style bureau providing consultancy services to personal and corporate clients including blue chip companies Google, Tommy Hilfiger and BMW. An offshoot of this business developed into an online magazine Help My Style which at the time was one of the first of its kind in Ireland.[17]

In November 2018, he launched Irish Made, skin and hair care brand Kennedy & Co.[18][19] In 2020 the brand announced it had signed a deal to be distributed across the Middle East.[20]

Awards[]

Kennedy is regularly nominated in most Stylish Man award categories. He was voted winner of Ireland's Most Stylish Man at the VIP (magazine) Style Awards in 2013.[21] He subsequently went on to host the televised awards show for three consecutive years on TV3.

In 2016 he was nominated for the IFTA Film & Drama Awards TV Rising Star award, which recognises the skill, talent, and professionalism of Ireland's leading young broadcasters and brightest rising stars who are blazing a trail across Irish and international TV screens.[22]

Kennedy was named Most influential Fashion Journalist in Ireland in the annual Murray Twitter Index.

References[]

  1. ^ Kirsty Blake Knox (22 September 2012). "I owe it all to Gerry, says Gay Daddy star Darren". The Herald.
  2. ^ Fernando, Brendan (2 March 2020). "Darren Kennedy Opens up on Being Bullied in School for Being Gay". GCN. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ^ "What makes a man? Darren Kennedy shares his personal journey". Independent.ie. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. ^ "The Unemployables". RTÉ. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Darren Kennedy co-hosts TV3's Xposé". RTE. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ^ "I owe it all to Gerry, says Gay Daddy star Darren". Evening Herald. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Renaissance man: How Darren Kennedy is #trending". The Irish Independent. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Kimberley Walsh's Star Wardrobe". This Morning ITV.com. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  9. ^ Rabbitte, Eimear (8 November 2013). "Darren Kennedy stunned after 'Gay Daddy' documentary goes viral". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  10. ^ "I'm 31, gay and I'm ready to be a father". Irish Independent. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  11. ^ "The Unemployables review - 'If your tastes run to arts docs you'll think it's mushy crapola, if not you'll enjoy it fine'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  12. ^ "The Fabulous Five: BBC One reveals stylists for You Are What You Wear". BBC. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Darren and Karen eliminated on Dancing with the Stars". RTE. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Darren Kennedy and that Louis Copeland collection". Irish Times. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Darren Kennedy recommends". Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Introducing Darren Kennedy Recommends collection at Specsavers". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Darren Kennedy: Help My Style". Image Magazine. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Laura. "Best beauty product of 2018 –'It makes skin look airbrushed and candlelit'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Laura. "Why we can't get enough of Darren Kennedy's grooming range". The Examiner. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Kennedy lands deal to sell men's grooming products in Middle East". Business Post. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  21. ^ Fegan, Joyce (18 March 2016). "15 years of the VIP Style Awards: How one red carpet transformed careers of Ireland's most stylish". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Gala TV Rising Star announced by IFTA". Irish Film & Television Awards. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""