Netflix's Queer Eye was practically an overnight sensation. Now, pop culture staples, the Fab Five, weren't always household names, and here's what Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski did before joining the Fab Five. Surprisingly, the first half of his career had nothing to do with food.
In just one year, Netflix's Queer Eye - a reboot of Bravo's Queer Eye For The Straight Guy - has become one of the platform's most successful series. The Fab Five - including Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Karamo Brown, and Bobby Berk - help people reinvent themselves and their lives - upgrading their home decor, their eating habits, and their personal maintenance. All of the stars have become pop culture icons since the show premiered in 2018. Antoni's speciality on Queer Eye is cooking. He teaches the "heroes" how to cook simple meals for themselves and talks to them about things like presentation and nutrition. But he wasn't always the foodie he is today. In fact, his earlier career had nothing to do with food.
Born in Montreal, Canada to Polish immigrants, Porowski is fluent in three languages, including English, French, and Polish. In middle school, he moved to West Virginia with his parents, while his older sisters remained in Canada. Oddly enough, Porowski has no background in cooking. According to Refinery29, he was an actor before meeting former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Ted Allen in New York City at a book signing. After the two discovered they were neighbors, Allen asked Porowski to be his personal chef, eventually recommending he audition for Netflix's Queer Eye reboot - and the rest is history.
Porowski previously lived in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with his now ex-boyfriend Joey Krietemeyer, director of creative services at 1stdibs - a luxury marketplace of vintage design pieces. The two men dated for seven years before breaking up in 2018. The Queer Eye star then went on to date Flipping Out star Trace Lehnhoff, with whom he recently just ended things. According to reports, Porowski wanted to be single for a while to focus on his career. That makes sense considering he's the star of one of the most successful series of all time. And with Queer Eye heading into its fifth season, Porowski certainly has enough on his plate (no pun intended) to keep himself busy. He's also currently working on a new cookbook, Antoni in the Kitchen.
It's surprising that Porowski, who has no real culinary training, ended up being America's favorite at-home chef - and no one is more surprised than he is. Porowski, along with the rest of the Fab Five, regularly expresses how grateful he is for the surreal journey that Queer Eye has taken him on. And judging by how successful he's been so far in such a short amount of time, it looks like Porowski is just getting started.
Sources: Refinery29, Antoni Porowski