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story Maureen Scott    photographs Barry Harris Jeanne Beker doesn’t like to name drop, but she can’t help it. As Host/Segment Producer of the internationally syndicated show Fashion Television, a style correspondent for Canada AM and eTalk, and former co-host of The New Music, Jeanne has travelled the world interviewing rock stars like Bono from U2, fashion designers like Valentino and Karl Lagerfeld, posed for photos with Paul McCartney backstage at his daughter Stella’s runway show, lunched with First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laureen Harper. She’s also a columnist with The Globe and Mail and a judge on Canada’s Next Top Model. Wanting to discuss Jeanne’s new book Jeanne Beker Finding Myself in Fashion and the first anniversary of her signature clothing line EDIT by Jeanne Beker, GoodLife caught up with the jet-setter by phone – where else? At Pearson International Airport in Mississauga. Jeanne is as down to earth as it gets - a proud mom talking about her two daughters, Rebecca Leigh and Sarah Jo, her commitment to an exercise routine and recent 10 pound weight loss (the svelte 59-year-old looks better than ever), then speaking candidly about how she juggles motherhood and a mega career. “There’s a lot that’s glamorous about what I do,” says Jeanne. “I love dressing up, love covering the glitz and glamour. It’s a big life. But nothing comes easy. If you want the big life you are going to pay for it. It’s hard work and sometimes the last thing you want to do is dress up, but you owe it to your public to give them the right amount of energy and enthusiasm. It doesn’t turn off, even at the gym.” Jeanne is just as candid in her fifth book Jeanne Beker Finding Myself in Fashion. It’s a story of a “big life” - the ups and downs along the way, including the breakup of two marriages, and then, rediscovering love. “It’s about life in the trenches and what it took to strike a balance as a workingwoman and mother,” says Jeanne. “Sometimes you get it right. Between raising my two daughters and taking care of my mom after a health scare, it is a story of survival.” Despite the bumps in the road, Jeanne has managed not only to survive, but also to thrive in an industry that is known to change.   “I’ve learned how to re-invent myself. It’s something I learned from my late father and I thank him for instilling me with a strong work ethic,” says Jeanne. In Finding Myself in Fashion, Jeanne further explains, “I am a survivor. It’s just who I am, and how I was raised - as the daughter of two courageous people who were themselves true survivors. Actually, both my parents felt compelled to talk about how they had survived the Holocaust: The terror, the anguish, the hunger, the pain, the loneliness, and then the miracles. I knew from a very young age that I was on this planet thanks to my parents’ wits and some kind of divine intervention.” Jeanne’s parents immigrated to Toronto from Poland in 1948 and two years later started Quality Slippers. Jeanne’s dad worked up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week for most of his life. Jeanne also puts in some gruelling hours in prep work and travel time. “I travel at least every second week anywhere from two to twelve days,” says Jeanne. “No two days are ever the same. It’s what I signed up for. I always knew I wanted an extraordinary life.” It started at age 16 when she landed a recurring role on the CBC sitcom Toby. At 19 she moved to New York to study acting, then to Paris to study mime, acting again in Toronto at York University, eventually moving to Newfoundland where she became the Province’s first mime, and an arts reporter for CBC Radio. Back to Toronto, Jeanne joined CHUM Radio, but it was as co-host of The New Music that Jeanne earned a VIP backstage pass to interview some of the world’s biggest rock stars. She still fondly remembers her interview in the bathtub with Andy Summers of The Police. When MuchMusic launched in 1984, Jeanne anchored Rockflash segments. Yet no one was more surprised than Jeanne, the-rock-and-roll-reporter, to “find herself in fashion” as host of the groundbreaking show Fashion Television (FT). “When I started out as a reporter at CHUM, fashion programming didn’t exist - especially not a national fashion television show as entertainment,” says Jeanne. “I was a rock-and-roll reporter who started covering fashion as entertainment. Perhaps because of my ignorance I was nervy and gutsy. I never considered myself a fashion journalist. I feel that I took the snobbery out of fashion coverage.” Fashion Television (FT) is aired in over 130 countries around the world. The success of FT led to the launch of FashionTelevisionChannel, which Jeanne also hosts and acts as segment producer. She was also the Editor-in-Chief of FQ and SIR Magazines. Jeanne reports from the fashion capitals of the world and receives coveted invitations to galas, like the “great party in Rome hosted by Valentino.” But it’s not all fun and parties and things can go wrong when the cameras are rolling. “At New York Fashion Week, I was interviewing a woman journalist when Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas walked by. I didn’t want to miss my chance to get to talk to her for eTalk, so I cut off the journalist mid-stream and ran after Fergie. I felt horrible about it. I sent flowers to the woman in Paris, but never heard back from her. If I ever had to do it again, would I? Probably. "That’s the unfortunate nature of the beast. Sometimes you have to be ruthless and persistent, but at the end of the day, you are making a TV show.” It turns out Laureen Harper, wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is a big fan of FT. Hearing from a columnist that Jeanne and her mum were planning a trip to Ottawa, Mrs. Harper extended an invitation to dinner at 24 Sussex Drive. “I told her how important I thought it would be for her to start wearing Canadian fashion, and offered to take her on a shopping spree in Toronto and introduce her to a handful of our top designers,” says Jeanne (in Finding Myself in Fashion). Laureen Harper took Jeanne up on the offer! The pair went on a private shopping trip to visit the showrooms of Canadian designers Lida Baday, Wayne Clark and others. In June 2010, Laureen Harper invited Jeanne and ten Canadian “Women of Distinction” to be her special guests at a luncheon held at the CN Tower to honour the 16 spouses of the world leaders attending the G20 Summit. Jeanne was seated beside Laureen Harper and directly across from First Lady Michelle Obama. Jeanne recalls the experience in Finding Myself in Fashion: “And for one moment, overwhelmed by this phenomenal honour, I got misty-eyed. All I could think of were my parents, and how proud my late dad would be if he could see this. And I kept asking myself how a kid from Downsview - who simply dreamed, believed, and worked really hard - had managed to find herself sitting among some of the most prominent women in the world. In person, Michelle Obama was even more gorgeous and gracious than I had imagined. Her sheer physical presence was striking enough. But coupled with her generosity of spirit and inimitable “comfortable in her own skin” style, it gave her a larger-than-life quality the likes of which I have never seen.” Last September, Jeanne’s signature clothing label, EDIT by Jeanne Beker, launched at 65 Bay stores across Canada, including Square One, Erin Mills Town Centre and Sherway Gardens. Working with designers at Levy Canada in Montreal, Jeanne “edited” a collection of 25 of the season’s top looks, ranging from jeans to glamorous cape jackets. ”I edit. It’s what I do,’’ says Jeanne. “These are forever pieces for all body types and ages. We started designing for women over 40, but now 20-year-olds are loving the brand. We have expanded our line of jeans and have added plus sizes to the collection.”  (See more about Jeanne’s EDIT collection in our STYLE story on Knitwear). Recently, Jeanne returned to her acting roots, appearing in the Toronto production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. She says she’s in a “happy place” right now, enjoying weekends with her boyfriend and her girls at Chanteclair, Jeanne’s 1842 stone farmhouse in Northumberland County. “When I am travelling, I close my eyes and think about my stone house on 123 acres of land and it takes me away from the pressure,” says Jeanne. “It’s my respite. It really is paradise.” As we wrap up the conversation, I ask Jeanne to name one or two highlights of her “extraordinary life.” Likely not wanting to name drop or having to choose from the endless list, Jeanne laughs. “There are so many. You’ll have to read my book. I am truly blessed.”    EDIT by Jeanne Beker is available at The Bay. Jeanne Beker Finding Myself in Fashion is available at local bookstores, published by The Penguin Group. Photos and quotes from: Finding Myself in Fashion by Jeanne Beker. Copyright © Jeanne Beker 2011. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Group (Canada), a Division of Pearson Canada Inc. For more information on Fashion Television visit www.FashionTelevison.com.

Backstage with Bono from Finding Myself in Fashion by Jeanne Beker Photo reprinted by permission of Penguin Group (Canada), a Division of Pearson Canada inc. Sitting In the bath with Andy Summers With Laureen Harper and Jeanne's mother First Lady Michelle Obama and Jeanne at the Canadian "Women of Distinction" luncheon in June 2010