Today Chip and Joanna Gaines are well-known for their hit series Fixer Upper, not to mention their various businesses around their hometown of Waco, Texas. Though they've grown a mega-empire (that's also mega-profitable), they didn't start out earning big bucks or even with a dream of becoming famous.
Joanna Gaines, for one, had no idea she'd wind up in home improvement when she was studying in college or starting out with her first job.
Joanna Gaines Never Intended To Go Into Design
Chip and Joanna Gaines' fame began with Fixer Upper, but their story started long before that.
Long before she became everyone's favorite home designer, Joanna Gaines went to college where she pursued a degree in communications (Chip studied business). The two went to the same college, but they didn't meet until later.
In fact, Chip went out of his way to meet Joanna after seeing a photo of her at her family's business (though he almost messed it all up).
While Chip has admitted he had big dreams that involved working for himself and getting his hands dirty, Joanna didn't have quite the same vision. Her first job was working at a restaurant—a buffet, specifically—which she didn't actually hate.
She also had some experience with her dad's business.
Who Are Joanna Gaines' Parents?
Joanna Gaines, formerly Joanna Stevens, is the daughter of Jerry and Nan Stevens. Jerry and Nan have three daughters, and Joanna is the middle child.
Teresa Criswell is the oldest and is an author and YouTuber, while the youngest, Mary Kall McCall (AKA Mikey) works for Joanna under the Magnolia umbrella. It's unclear how many kids Teresa has (at least one, per Hello Magazine), but Mikey had six as of 2018.
Joanna's mom is Korean while her dad is German-Lebanese; Gaines confirmed that they met while her father was stationed in Korea in the military.
That means Joanna is half Korean, a quarter German, and a quarter Lebanese, although she is a US citizen from birth.
Joanna once wrote on Instagram that her parents' love story (and 45-year+ marriage) was an inspiration to her, especially because the two had hard times early on. Originally, Joanna explained that her parents met at a party, but it later turned out that it was a "pot party," Gaines admitted in her podcast.
In the first year of their marriage, Joanna's dad was into drugs, but when his mother passed away, she explained, her dad realized he wasn't living life right and decided to change things.
Her dad wound up getting a job at Firestone, which led to him eventually having his own tire shop—where Joanna's photo was displayed, which led to Chip eventually meeting her.
Joanna also appeared in a commercial for the Firestone shop, but that was her only TV gig prior to hitting it big with HGTV.
Things didn't always come easily for Joanna Stevens, as she explained in her podcast while chatting with her mom about her early life.
Joanna Gaines Took Time To Embrace Her Heritage
In her podcast, Joanna actually apologized to her mom for not fully embracing her Korean heritage, saying to Nan, "I always wanted to say I was sorry for living in halfness. And not fully embracing the most beautiful thing about myself, which was you."
Joanna explained in a prior interview that at age 21, she finally saw other people who "looked like" her while visiting New York City, and that changed her perspective on her heritage and helped her feel "whole."
While she felt insecure in her younger years, Joanna was able to "really [understand] the beauty and uniqueness of Korean culture."
Has Joanna Gaines Been On TV Shows Other Than Fixer Upper?
It might seem like Joanna Gaines (and Chip too) is a natural in front of the camera, her first experience with TV, apart from that one commercial, was with HGTV. Her TV and film credits only list HGTV/Magnolia shows, plus appearances on programs like Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition.
By all accounts, it seems Joanna Gaines' first foray into TV was with the 2013 debut of Fixer Upper on HGTV. Since then, she's appeared in countless spinoffs and specials under the Magnolia umbrella; Chip and Joanna have released numerous TV shows on Magnolia, some starring friends of theirs from the industry.
Joanna mostly sticks to home DIY and cooking content, including Magnolia Table, which has proven to be a hit. After all, cooking is one of Joanna's passions and the reason why the Magnolia Market features a bakery in addition to home goods and other HGTV-inspired stores.
Her show also allowed her the opportunity to hire her sister on to Magnolia when the brand blew up; Mikey and Joanna have collaborated on Ferny's, a "retro plant shop," per Hello Magazine.
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