It’s Jeanne Beker‘s world and we’re all just living in it. While some people might be recovering from St. Patrick’s Day or preparing for the start of spring, the Canadian TV host has been reminding fans about her birthday over the past week — and that she’s living life to the fullest.
“So…this is 73!! Sending so much love to you all,” Beker, whose birthday is today, March 19, shared in an Instagram post. In the picture, the Toronto-born fashion icon posed with a bright smile in a backyard hot tub. She wore a metallic silver halter-neck bathing suit from Bathing Belle and large tortoise sunglasses.
Over the past several days, Beker has been showing fans her birthday week has been full of relaxation and great bites. From enjoying mocktails at Maison Selby in downtown Toronto to spending even more time in the jacuzzi, age has just been a number for the former FashionTelevision host.
In an earlier post over the weekend, Beker posed at a Port Hope, Ont., restaurant called Café Lviv. There, she and partner Iain MacInnes ate Ukrainian food in honour of her parents, who are from Kozova, a former part of Poland that is now in Ukraine.
“Let the celebrations begin! With my birthday just around the corner, I wanted to feel closer to my mum and dad,” Beker posted on social media Saturday, adding she wanted to have lunch at the restaurant so she “could savour their delicious varenyky — also known as pierogi — just like the ones my mum used to make!”
Earlier in the week, Beker also shared a photo of herself outside in a jacuzzi, where she smiled brightly and threw her arms into the air, celebrating how spring was in the air. “Overjoyed that the long, cold winter will soon be behind us. It was a tough start to the year … but I’m pumped at the promise of spring and will be proudly celebrating the big 7-3 next week.
“I’m grateful for so much in this blessed life of mine. The biggest lesson I’ve learned this past year? Patience is a virtue! We’ve all just gotta have faith. So here’s to positivity: If you can’t change the situation, change your mind.”
In celebration of the Canadian fashion icon turning 73, here’s a look back at some of her most notable moments over the years.
October 2024: Beker’s Heart on My Sleeve memoir releases
Beker’s most recent book, a memoir titled Heart on My Sleeve: Stories From a Life Well Worn, was released on Oct. 8, 2024 and was an instant bestseller. Throughout the memoir, Beker details various anecdotes in her life, walking through her memories one article of clothing a time.
In the book, Beker reflects on her parents who survived the Holocaust, significant moments of her career like the Royal Wedding and meeting the love of her life at age 63.
December 2022: Beker covers Hello! Canada
Beker was a Hello! Canada cover star in December 2022, where she opened up about living with cancer and her journey with the disease. Beker explained she was “honoured” for the “extraordinary gift,” which hit newsstands on Dec. 19.
The cover feature came after Beker spoke to the magazine that August for an article about finding joy despite her harrowing health news. “I’ve always been of the strong belief that if you can’t change a situation, try to change your mind,” she said in the interview.
December 2022: Beker stars as a guest judge on Canada’s Drag Race
Beker was once a judge on Canada’s Next Top Model, sitting on the panel for all three season between 2006 and 2009. In December 2022, she revived her duties as a guest judge on the third episode of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.
The episode came a year after Canadian drag queen Synthia Kiss paid homage to Beker in a runway look on Canada’s Drag Race. The yellow-jacket look was inspired by an older photograph of Beker holding a FashionTelevision microphone.
June 2022: Beker announces her cancer diagnosis
In June 2022, Beker took to social media to announce she was diagnosed with a fast-growing form of breast cancer, sharing the news on National Cancer Wellness Awareness Day. It had only been a few weeks that she received the diagnosis after a routine mammogram, but she quickly changed her mindset and attitude to work through the journey.
“I sat in a chemo chair at the Princess Margaret Hospital for the first time, determined to beat this thing, grateful that I’ve got the very best doctors on my team, and a whole lotta love in my life,” Beker wrote in her post at the time. “I’ve decided that the universe isn’t testing me: Life is just giving me the chance to prove that I’m all that I think I am.”
October 2016: Beker is inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame
Beker was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame on Oct. 6, 2016 in Toronto, joining the ranks of A-listers like Shania Twain, Pamela Anderson and Céline Dion. That year, she joined alongside actors Al Waxman and Jason Priestly, as well as filmmaker Deepa Mehta and singer Corey Hart.
November 2014: Beker is named to the Order of Canada
Beker was officially awarded the Order of Canada on Nov. 21, 2013 and was invested a year later at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. At the ceremony, she shook hands with then-Governor General David Johnston as she was designated a member.
According to the Governor General of Canada’s website, Beker was honoured for her contributions to the fashion industry and for her promotions of Canadian designers.
April 2011: Beker covers the Royal Wedding
Back on April 29, 2011, Beker flew to London to cover Prince William and Princess Kate’s Royal Wedding. The reporter wore a teal blue fascinator by Vivien Sheriff, a matching jacket from Toronto-based designer Lida Baday and a floral dress from Erdem, as she presented from a rooftop across from Westminster Abbey.
In her Heart on My Sleeve memoir, Beker recalled having the scoop on who designed the now-Princess of Wales’ wedding dress. It was a much-speculated subject, and Beker was the first journalist to report that Kate Middleton’s gown was designed by Alexander McQueen.
September 2010: Beker launches clothing line ‘Edit’
Beker helped launch a clothing line in late 2010 called “Edit,” featuring a range of budget-friendly women’s clothes at The Bay. At the time, Beker said the line was “very much designed with me in mind.” It consisted of key, inexpensive basics — mostly blacks and greys — that Beker would pack in her own suitcase if she was going away for a week.
February 2010: Beker covers the Vancouver Olympics
In February 2010, Beker swapped the glamour of New York City for a coastal experience on the Pacific to report on the Vancouver Olympic Games. Back then, Beker covered Olympic fashion for CTV, taking in the city’s sportswear-clad street style and interviewing Canadian talent.
During the Olympic torch relay, Beker carried the torch on Feb. 9 in Ladner, B.C. That year, the Olympic flame took on a 106-day journey across Canada, ending with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremonies on Feb. 12.
March 2008: Bratz releases a doll inspired by Beker
On March 19, 2008, Bratz revealed a doll inspired by Beker at a Diesel Kids show during L’Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto. The doll, released under Bratz’s Passion 4 Fashion line, was a fashion reporter named Jeanne B.
Alongside the doll, Beker wrote a children’s book called “Passion For Fashion: Careers in Style,” which was illustrated by Montreal artist Nathalie Dion.
September 1994: Beker breaks down barriers in the fashion world
On FashionTelevision, Beker could be seen asking impertinent questions with a wide grin, as she travelled to Europe or New York City at least twice a month to cover fashion shows. “I think we’ve helped make people understand that fashion is something we can all take part in,” Beker told Maclean’s in 1996 for the show’s 10th anniversary.
On April 11, 2012, Beker took to Twitter to share the news of the show’s cancellation. “This dream is over: After 27 glorious years, FT production ceased today,” she wrote at the time.
June 1989: Beker rises to prominence with FashionTelevision
Beker left The New Music in 1985 when she was presented the opportunity to host FashionTelevision. The show acted as guide to the fashion world, cutting through the pretension and glamour of a then-mysterious industry.
Initially, the show was a local production of Citytv Toronto, but it was eventually syndicated to air across Canada and in more than 130 countries.
1979: Beker co-hosts The New Music
Beker might’ve got her first acting gig at age 16 on the 1968 Canadian sitcom Toby, but the television journalist first rose to prominence co-hosting Citytv’s The New Music with J. D. Roberts. The program’s first episode aired on Sept. 29, 1979, and aimed to present popular music within the social and political context at the time.
“It was groundbreaking; two kids from Toronto running around interviewing rock stars on smoky buses, hanging around backstage. … It was entertainment reporting, first and foremost,” Beker told the Toronto Star last year.
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