Greg Herman
| Greg Herman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 8, 1972 Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Cambridge University and University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, fashion designer |
Greg Herman (born July 8, 1972) is an American actor, producer, and fashion designer. Herman, who had acted into his early twenties, and had great success as an accessory designer, returned to entertainment in early 2009 when he was asked to star on a series for BBC America. Later that year, Herman returned full-time to television, and is currently in development on a new one-hour drama with Max Carver, and Charlie Carver. He is currently represented by the talent agency William Morris Endeavor.
Early life
Herman was raised in Beverly Hills, California by his mother Judy Herman. His father, now deceased, was born in Chicago and lived with well-known actress Jayne Mansfield and Sam Brody. The three lived together up until the fatal and very publicized car accident of 1967. Brody was one of four attorneys that represented Jack Ruby in the Ruby v. Texas case in which Ruby was prosecuted and found guilty for shooting and killing Lee Harvey Oswald the sniper who assassinated John F. Kennedy. Herman’s father and Brody had a unique and special friendship. In the early 1990s additional details of their relationship surfaced, and it was suggested that Brody confided and shared with him detailed and confidential information on Kennedy, Mr. Ruby, and the Ruby case.
His mother's family came to Los Angeles in the late 1800s making him a third generation Los Angelian. Herman's sister in her late teens was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma. She survived, and a few years later along with Erin Brockovich spearheaded a lawsuit against Beverly Hills and the oil companies. While his interest in fashion began at a very early age, it was acting that he was most passionate about, and while attending Beverly Hills High School, Herman was discovered by the talent agency The Irv Schecter Company. During much of his teenage years, and into his twenties, Herman was a young working stage, television, and voice over actor. At nineteen, Herman was offered a full scholarship to study theatre and modern drama at the prestigious Cambridge University in the UK. It was during that time, Herman began to sketch and design handbags. Herman eventually came back to the U.S. where he attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and earned a degree in Anthropology.
Career
In 1996, the Greg Herman brand was born. While working out of a basement, Herman designed bags for friends; Tia Carrere, Alyssa Milano, Brittany Murphy, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Christina Applegate. Cosmopolitan magazine, having heard of this young prodigy designer and his following, flew to Los Angeles to pick up the story and get the first interview. With the support of friends such as Sharon Stone, and stylist Rachel Rosenzweig aka Rachel Zoe, Herman made the decision to pursue a career in fashion design. Herman’s love for fashion, and bags in specific, were due to the architectural and angular development they possessed. With his sister's medical bills mounting, Herman quickly found himself with no money, homeless, and living in his car. By taking odd jobs, Herman was able to muster up enough cash to produce a small number of handbags, which he would then sell to friends. With the money he earned, Herman headed to New York where he stayed with friends in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of lower Manhattan
Broke and still virtually homeless in New York, Herman had a sample line of bags, two rolling suitcases, one piece of luggage, and a few hundred dollars to his name. Unable to afford transportation, Herman would make the daily walk from Greenwich Village to Columbus Circle to meet with showrooms and magazines. Herman, while visiting Fairchild Publications had a chance meeting with Jane Pratt - founder Jane magazine. She was sitting on the office floor playing with a new accessory line when they met. She invited him to join her. They hit it off, and Jane became one of Herman’s greatest supporters. On the last day of his trip to New York, Herman met with designer Steven Alan who later came to represent his collections.
Upon his return to Los Angeles, Herman was busy building the collection. Quickly it rose from twelve designs to over fifty. Herman, still with no money, returned to New York to move showrooms. He later signed to Meridian Accessories and then opened up his own showroom on Fifth Avenue. Herman debuted the collection at the prestigious Accessories Circuit in New York. In his first outing as a designer, Herman set a new precedent in young fashion by signing; Barneys New York, Anthropologie, House of Fraser, Scoop, and Isetan as clients. Before he could return to Los Angeles, the press began to get word of his success and the Los Angeles Times quickly ran an article on the young designer. As the Company grew, so did the amount of press. Herman, together with many of his high profile friends became the public relations machine of the Company.
Over the next few years, Herman went from selling his bags from a trunk to having showrooms in Los Angeles, New York, London, Germany, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona, and Hawaii. Herman, preferring to be behind the spotlight has been profiled in New York Magazine, Time Out New York, Teen, YM, Teen People, Jane magazine, W, WWD, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and many others. In 2000, Herman was featured twice in Entrepreneur, and had been spoofed on two episodes of Saturday Night Live. In 2001, Greg Herman Los Angeles was expected to merge their operations with a larger conglomerate. However, Herman chose to keep the company under private control and operation. A few years later, Herman made the decision to close the bulk of his operations, and license his name to a select number of accounts in the U.S. where he still oversees design of the various collections.
At a time when consumers were purchasing only named brands such as Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, Herman helped pave the way for both designs and designers in the field of fashion and accessories. He helped to invent the boutique accessory designer of modern day, and influenced others to take up careers in the field. In the years to come, Herman became a global brand, supplying stores throughout the world, and creating exclusive collections for Henri Bendel, Harvey Nichols, and Nordstrom.
Herman has been quoted in saying that “the core energy derived from design and fashion is vibrational and exciting. It lasts forever in the soul and spirit of the designer."
In January 2012, Herman was signed to a one-year First-Look deal with the Canadian and now U.S. studio Shaftesbury Films. In August 2013, Herman was signed to a two-year First-Look development and talent deal with Film Roman Studios jointly owned by Starz Inc. and The Weinstein Company as a subsidiary of Starz Media, LLC and best known for producing The Simpsons.
Personal life
Herman is currently single and resides in Los Angeles, California.
References
External links
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