From renovating community homes to celebrity mansions, Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip Gaines, have long proven why they’re the best at what they do. The husband-wife duo has long captivated hearts on HGTV’s Fixer Upper TV show since it premiered in 2013. With her husband’s amazing eye for real estate, Joanna Gaines has mesmerized clients and audiences with her home designs and ideas for years.
However, it isn’t just her work ethic and growing design brand that has endeared Gaines to many. Joanna Gaines is a proud mother of five children and has effectively juggled between their business and raising her kids. For more about the amazing home designer, here are 8 things you didn’t know about Joanna Gaines.
Joanna Gaines Has Asian And European Ancestry
Gaines was born Joanna Stevens in Wichita, Kansas, on April 19, 1978, to Nan Stevens and Jerry Stevens. Her father served with the United States Army and was stationed in Seoul, South Korea, in the late 1960s. Jerry met Nan while in Seoul in 1969. Joanna Gaines is of Korean descent from her mother, who became a Korean immigrant in the United States. Besides being an American, Gaines’ father has a Lebanese-German heritage. This puts Gaines’ ancestry across three continents, making Joanna Gaines one-quarter German, one-quarter Lebanese, and half Korean.
She Appeared In TV Commercials As A Teen
HGTV and her home design career wasn’t the first time Joanna Gaines appeared on television. The TV personality appeared in TV commercials for her father’s business. Gaines’ family moved to Waco, Texas, from Austin, Texas, when she was in Junior High school. Gaines’ father opened a business in Waco, Texas, Jerry Stevens Firestone, a Firestone Tire franchise. When the business needed a commercial for marketing, Gaines was more than willing to do it.
Joanna Gaines Initially Aspired To Be A Broadcast Journalist
While it’s almost impossible to imagine Joanna Gaines in a profession besides her fantastic work as a home design and renovation expert, it wasn’t a career choice she ever considered growing up. After being named homecoming queen in High School, Gaines had her life all planned out. She got admitted into the private Christian University, Baylor University, in Waco, Texas. She majored in Communications and was intent on becoming a successful Broadcast Journalist.
To this end, she first interned at the local television and radio stations KWTX and KWBU. While still in school, she did a semester in New York City and interned on 48 Hours, a CBS documentary news-magazine TV show anchored by Dan Rather. She returned to Texas, finished her studies, and graduated from Baylor University in 2001.
Joanna Gaines Met Her Husband While Working At Her Father’s Tire Shop
Joanna Gaines stumbled into real estate after meeting her husband, Chip Gaines. Until that point in her life, real estate wasn’t a career she ever thought she would venture into (at least not at that time in her life). Interestingly, Chip and Joanna attended Baylor University, although they never met while in school. Chip Gaines transferred to Baylor University in his sophomore year after he was scouted by the University’s baseball coach, Mickey Sullivan. Chip graduated in 1998, the overlap year he was at Baylor University with Joanna Gaines. The first time Chip and Joanna met was at Joanna’s father’s tire shop, where she was working. Chip immediately recognized her from the store’s TV commercials, and the two hit it off – although he didn’t call her back for a month after their first date.
Her Husband Introduced Her To Real Estate
Chip Gaines began flipping houses the year he transferred to Baylor University. He became interested in real estate and chose to start the career while still in school. When he met Joanna Gaines, Chip had gained lots of experience in flipping houses. After the couple’s wedding, considering the success of her husband’s real estate business, Joanna Gaines opted to join her husband. Not only did they establish themselves in Waco’s real estate market, but they also opened the Magnolia Market retail store in 2003. Magnolia Market has become one of Waco, Texas’s top home goods stores.
Joanna Gaines And Her Husband Made Time 100 List In 2019
With the popularity and home design influence Joanna Gaines and her husband have had with HGTV’s Fixer Upper TV show and their growing clientele, they soon caught the attention of Time Magazine. In 2019, Joanna Gaines and her husband were named in the list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. The couple was listed under the Artists category, with other A-list celebrities such as Dwayne Johnson, Regina King, Emilia Clarke, BTS, and Brie Larson. Others included Ariana Grande, Mahershala Ali, Glenn Close, Rami Malek, and Richard Madden.
Joanna Gaines And Her Husband Are Friends With Hollywood A-listers
Part of being a famous TV personality is having to rub shoulders with several other Hollywood stars. As a celebrity interior designer, Joanna Gaines has offered services to some of the industry’s biggest names, sometimes earning their friendship. Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer and actress Cher is a fan of the Gaines’ show Fixer Upper and was referred to as “Auntie Cher” in one of Chip Gaines’ tweets. With Chip being a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds, the Gaines became close friends with Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively. The Gaineses helped Jennifer Lopez and her then-fiancé Alex Rodriguez renovate their Malibu beach property, even going on a couple date afterwards.
Towards the end of the first quarter of 2021, Chip and Joanna Gaines were among those actor Matthew McConaughey invited for his We’re Texas charity event. In 2018, Actress Reese Witherspoon wrapped up her cross-country tour for her book Whiskey in a Teacup by visiting the Gaines’ store Magnolia Market. The couple is also friends with actress Drew Barrymore, who visited Chip and Joanna in Waco, Texas, after exchanging correspondence on social media. In a 2018 Fixer Upper episode (“A Modern Cabin Makeover”), former United States First Lady Laura Bush made a guest appearance. Since then, the Gaineses have been friends with the Bush family, especially the former First Lady and her daughter, Jenna Bush Hager.
She Doesn’t Have A TV In Her Home
Interestingly, Joanna Gaines, who has spent most of her career as a TV personality, doesn’t have a TV in their home. Although she and her husband have nothing against televisions, they have decided to be a little strict in raising their five children. Besides already informing them that they would have their first cellphones until they go off to college, the kids got to watch television. However, they have access to an iPad, which Gaines ensures is used only for a certain period – and they have to earn it. She and her husband also do their best to keep the children occupied, so they don’t naturally look forward to using the iPad. So, how do the Gaineses watch episodes of their Fixer Upper show? They admit they do so at a friend’s home. If you enjoyed reading about Joanna Gaines, read the 10 Things You Didn’t Know about David Bromstad.
