Thomas Carlyle Ford (commonly known as Tom Ford) is an American film maker/director and fashion designer, born in Austin, Texas on the 27th of August 1961. After graduating high school at age 17 he enrolled at New York University in 1979 as an art history major but after one year he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles where he made a living off acting in commercials. After a few years he enrolled in Parsons School of Design, studying architecture and whilst completing his final year of study he decided to switch to fashion. In 1990 he became women’s wear designer for Gucci and creative director in 1994. Under Ford, Gucci’s sales grew to $3 billion; this turnaround is where Ford gained his international fame. In 2004 he founded his own Tom Ford fashion label and directed the film ‘The Single Man’ starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, which received critical acclaim. Tom Ford is married to fashion journalist, Richard Buckley, since meeting in 1986. The couple had a son in September 2012 named Alexander John Buckley Ford and now lives in Italy.