American fashion designer Michael Kors was BOTD in 1959. Born Karl Anderson Jr. in Long Island, New York, he renamed himself Michael Kors when he was five after his mother’s remarriage. He showed an early interest in fashion design, helping design his mother’s wedding dress, and was designing and selling clothes by his teens. In 1977, he moved to New York City to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology, dropping out to work at Lothar’s boutique in Manhattan. In 1981, he launched his first womenswear collection for department store Bergdorf Goodman. In 1997, he became a ready-to-wear designer for French fashion house Celine, reviving the company’s business with a highly popular accessories line of fragrances, handbags and shoes, and a successful menswear line. In 2002, he left Celine to open his own fashion house. Favouring clean lines, bright colours and comfort, he became a red-carpet favourite, dressing politicians Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris and actresses Jennifer Lopez, Sigourney Weaver and Viola Davis. By 2014, his personal fortune was estimated in being in excess of US$1 billion. He became more widely known as a judge on reality TV series Project Runway, remaining with the show for five seasons. Openly gay since forever, he married his long term partner (and former intern) Lance Le Pere in 2011. He is a long-time supporter of the charity God’s Love We Deliver, a secular group delivering fresh meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.