The treasure: Jeanne Beker is one of our most recognizable Canadians, having anchored groundbreaking TV show “FashionTelevision” for almost three decades. The style maven has done everything from writing memoirs and various newspaper columns to releasing her own clothing line and carrying the Olympic torch. (Oh, and she received the Order of Canada.) Now, she’s re-entering her reality-show judge era on the newly rebooted “Project Runway Canada.”
The new thing: Canadian reality TV can be, uh, hit or miss, but “Project Runway Canada” remains one of the best shows we ever produced here in the frozen north. It’s back more than 15 years later, this time hosted by model Coco Rocha and judged by Rocha, Beker and designer Spencer Badu.
The details: New episodes of “Project Runway Canada” are available to stream Fridays on Crave.
What did you learn about fashion from this new crop of designers?
I certainly had it reaffirmed to me that that passion is not an option. It’s a necessity. And the passion they displayed was just absolutely heart-swelling and inspiring, and will ultimately be what sees each and every one of them through if they really are serious about full-fledged careers in this business.
I also learned that there’s a great urge to tell stories, which doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve always seen Canada as a nation of storytellers and I think we’ve produced some of the best storytellers around. Maybe it’s because we’re not that caught up in the hype that we have the opportunity to see the forest for the trees and reflect a little more than some of these other places that are just so crazy; I think we’re a more thoughtful society and I saw that in these designers.
What did you learn about yourself, being a reality show judge?
That I have nothing but love for people whose hearts are in the right places and who aspire to dreams. I really was so happy to be able to encourage some of them. It pained me sometimes that I had to be a little critical! I tried not to be too mean, but you want people to see the light.
And then to have so many of these designers actually grow up watching “FashionTelevision,” and that was their first window onto the world of fashion, and some of them claim that it inspired them to want to be designers? That made me feel pretty good about myself. Although sometimes I thought, “Oh no, we created these monsters and maybe we encouraged people too much.” The fashion business is a tough one and only the strong survive, but I think there’s some pretty strong contenders on the show.
What do you wish your younger self knew?
That everything was gonna work out. No matter what life throws at you, somehow you get through it. I have to now still remind myself of that all the time. But when I was young, you think sometimes the sky is falling: things happen and you just think, “Oh, it’s the end of the world.” But you just keep going and it’s amazing how the universe somehow magically delivers and takes care of you.
What is the best advice you ever got?
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
What is the worst advice you ever got?
When I was starting my broadcast career in St. John’s, Newfoundland, at the CBC back in 1975, when I moved to Newfoundland — it’s a long story because I went there as a mime artist — and I got a job in radio. I was always larger than life and I remember there was a CBC producer there, a woman who was very, very mean to me saying, “You’ll never go anywhere in this business because you’re too big, you’ve really got to pull it back, you’re just too out there.”
I guess she hated the sound of my voice or the kind of energy that I had. It made me cry a little bit and, sometimes, in my darkest hours, I thought “Maybe I should have listened to her,” but in retrospect I’m just so grateful that I always remained true to myself and always tried to be my most authentic self possible. You really can’t compromise those things about yourself that really define who you are.
What makes you happiest these days?
My daughters, their happiness: you know that saying, “You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child.” So when my daughters are happy that makes me the happiest.
But I’m also very happy to be sharing a wonderful life with my dear partner Ian, who’s just been a godsend; we’ve been together for 10 years now and he’s just an incredible person.
And we have a new puppy, Hamish! Nothing compares with the joy of having a new puppy. We got him at the end of April, after we had to put down our dear last dog. My heart was just so broken. I just couldn’t imagine life without a beautiful furry creature in it and Hamish has just been an absolute joy. He jumps on the bed every morning and it’s like, “Yay, I’m ready to start a new one!”
What gives you hope these days?
Human connection. I had an extraordinary opportunity when I went through my cancer journey in 2022. In a crazy kind of way, I feel so blessed to have been on something like that because it allowed me to connect with people in a very meaningful, very deep, very precious way, and that’s what’s given me hope: the way stories resonate and the people sharing those stories. Ultimately, it’s about communication and that kind of heartfelt human communication that really gives me hope as long as we can be honest with each other and ourselves. It’s the greatest gift we can give one another, our own personal stories, and to really listen and really be there for people.
My cancer journey really almost reinstated my hope for humanity. I was feeling a little cynical about things before, but I feel nothing but love and gratitude and hope now for what might be possible.
In the 1998 Japanese film “After Life,” when people die, they get to pick a happy scene from their life that they get to live in forever. What scene from your life would you pick to live in forever?
(Begins to cry) That is such a hard question because there have just been so many magnificent moments in my life, it’s an embarrassment of riches. I have had the most extraordinary life and it continues.
Would it be maybe the moment that I met my partner Ian at the Moonlight Gala in 2015 when he walked up to me out of nowhere? He just literally walked into my life and stuck his hand out and he said, “I want to congratulate you on your career and always having kept yourself so relevant.” I thought, “Whoa, that’s the sexiest thing that a man could say to a woman of a certain age.” And then we cozied up together and we’ve been together ever since — we fell madly in love the first night we met.
