Who are Chip and Joanna Gaines?
The couple turned a tiny shop in Waco, Texas, into a renovation and design empire
Chip and Joanna Gaines have gained widespread recognition as the "Fixer Upper" couple and powerhouse business owners of the Texas-based Magnolia Market.
Their success was cultivated from Chip's experience in construction and Joanna's eye for design.
Joanna was born in Kansas but grew up in Texas. Chip, considered a true cowboy at heart, was also raised in the Lone Star State. After being born in New Mexico, Chip moved to Dallas and spent part of his childhood on his grandfather's ranch in North Texas.
The couple attended Baylor University three years apart, but they never crossed paths on campus. Instead they met for the first time in Waco, Texas, in 2001, according to Insider.
In college, Joanna pursued a degree in communications and Chip graduated from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business with a marketing degree.
The couple wed in 2003 and later began their career in remodeling and flipping homes.
While interning in New York, Joanna fell in love with interior design. She took her passion, found within the Big Apple's numerous unique and beautiful shops, and used it to create the original Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas, in 2003 alongside her husband.
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"I knew when I married Chip in 2003 that our life would be an adventure, but through all of the ups and downs I would never have imagined we’d land here," Joanna said in her book "The Magnolia Story."
Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines seen in Columbus Circle on their way to the 2019 Time 100 Gala on April 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
Their first shop gave her the ability to sharpen her skills while growing as a business owner, according to Joanna. However, a few years after their first shop opened, the couple decided to shut it down to focus on raising their children and put more emphasis on growing their construction business, Magnolia Homes.
The building where their store was housed became their construction offices until 2014. It was referred to as “Little Shop on Bosque."
This gave them the opportunity to hone the construction side of the business, according to the couple's biography. During this time, the couple felt as though they were "making Waco beautiful one home at a time.”
By 2013, the pair took their renovation, design and real estate expertise to HGTV. "Fixer Upper", showcasing the renovation of dilapidated homes throughout Texas, was their first TV debut. The series had been one of HGTV’s most successful shows, but the couple decided to call it quits after the show’s fifth season, which wrapped up in 2018.
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While filming the HGTV series, Joanna looked into reopening her shop once again. In May of 2014, they reopened the "Little Shop on Bosque" but quickly outgrew the space.
Today, the shop, known as Magnolia Market, is located on a formerly vacant lot at the Silos in Waco, which has given the couple the necessary space to expand their business, which also has an e-commerce presence.
However, their time in the entertainment industry is far from over. Parents of five are preparing to launch Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network which was set to launch in October but has since been pushed.
Discovery Inc.’s DIY Network will be rebranded as the Magnolia Network when the joint venture with the husband-and-wife team’s Magnolia company launches.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.