Ty Pennington is a popular TV host, carpenter , artist , former model, philanthropist, author and actor. Ty’s immense popularity can be attributed to his stint as the carpenter on the TV show Trading Spaces, that aired on TLC, was a reality show based on home improvement. He further became successful when he hosted the acclaimed TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition , a reality show that aired on ABC. The show gained him international fame for advocating volunteerism.

Personal Life

Ty Pennington was born as Gary Tygert Burton, he then adopted the name Tygert Burton “Ty” Pennington. He was born on October 19,1964 in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States of America. Since a very young age he began learning about woodwork. He is a self taught expert in home improvement and carpentry. He attended the Sprayberry High School located in Marietta, Georgia.

He attended the Kennesaw State University, there he got a major in art and history. He even paid his own college and tuition fee by taking night classes and worked in the daytime. Ty began by working landscaping and eventually shifted to construction. Inspite of being good at carpentry he declined to work as a carpenter, as he didn’t want to pursue it professionally, as he wanted to be an artist who specialised in graphic design. When advised by one of his professors, Ty applied for the Art Institute of Atlanta. It was from here that Ty earned his bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design.

In the year 1992, Ty Pennington was diagnosed with Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder, which is commonly known as ADHD. As a process of coming out he even appeared on television with Edward Hallowell and Russell Barkley. It is even reported that he has accepted sums of money to promote stimulant drugs from Shire.

Career

Ty initially started of as a model, when he was spotted by a modelling scout and embarked on a journey to establish a career in the field during his final semester. Soon he featured in the print media for a variety of brands such as Sprite, Swatch and J.Crew. Following this Ty was seen in television commercials for Diet Coke, Macy’s, Bayer and Levi’s. As a part of his job assignments Ty travelled the world, including countries like Japan, Italy, Germany,Thailand and Canada. He even had to reside in these countries for short spans of time.

Later he began using his skill set and made way into the entertainment industry, he started off as a set designer. He then got his breakthrough professionally when he became part of the hit TV show Trading Spaces, which aired on The Learning Channel (currently known as TLC).

He became an ultimate star and cemented his superstardom on television by appearing on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, a reality TV show that was aired on ABC Network and involved transforming the houses of selected families within a week or even lesser. On the show he was a leader of an eight man team for design. In addition to acting and modelling he has also published certain books and magicians related to home makeovers.