Debbie Travis (born 27 June 1960, in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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) is a

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television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, self-taught interior decorator, and former fashion model. She is best known as the host of '' Debbie Travis' Facelift'' and ''Debbie Travis' Painted House''. The shows were based out of

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and Facelift was produced for Home & Garden Television Canada.

Early career

Travis grew up in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

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. After a 6-year adult-modelling career, she worked in television as a freelance editor and producer. Travis met her future husband Hans Rosenstein, a television distributor, in 1985 during a visit to a television buyers' market in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. They married soon after and moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After redecorating her old Victorian house using

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

effects, Travis formed a small decorating business which quickly grew to include commissions from large

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, auditoriums,

theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...

, and grand reception halls. Her work attracted media attention, and Travis opened a small studio and hired a partner to teach workshops to both professional decorators and homeowners. She later produced an instructional video entitled ''Decorative Paint Finishes Made Easy'', and later produced three additional, more advanced instructional videos, available in both French and English.

Television

Hosting

Travis hosted ''Debbie Travis' Painted House'' from 1995 to 2002, airing on the Women's Television Network (later

W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was ...

). Travis was awarded two

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in th ...

for the series. In 2006, Travis hosted '' From The Ground Up with Debbie Travis'' on Global TV for two seasons. In 2010, Travis hosted the series '' All for One'' on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. In December 2010, Travis hosted the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

show ''Corrie Crazy: Canada Loves Coronation Street'', exploring Canadians' love of the British TV series

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

Production

Travis and Hans Rosenstein are partners in the production company Whalley-Abbey Media, which has produced all the Debbie Travis-branded television shows. She is also a partner and executive producer along with Kit Redmond and Hans Rosenstein for RTR Media in Toronto. She has served as an executive producer for all Whalley-Abbey and RTR Media productions, including Buy Me, Property Shop, Income Property and Maxed Out.

Print media

Travis is also known for her weekly syndicated column which appears in many newspapers and is titled ''Debbie Travis House to Home'', to which readers often write in to have their decorating questions answered. Travis has authored 9 books on decorating and painting techniques, as well as an autobiographical book on parenting.

Products

In 2005, Travis launched her own paint and home products line available from Canadian Tire and continues as president of the branding company, Debbie Travis Branding, Inc., located in Toronto. A fine wine collection bearing her name was released in 2016.

Bibliography

* ''Debbie Travis' Painted House: Quick and Easy Painted Finishes for Walls, Floors, and Furniture Using Water-Based Paints'' (1997); * ''Debbie Travis' Decorating Solutions: More Than 65 Paint and Plaster Finishes for Every Room in Your Home'' (1999); * ''Debbie Travis' Weekend Projects: More Than 55 One-of-a-Kind Designs You Can Make in Under Two Days'' (2000); * ''Debbie Travis' Painted House Living and Dining Rooms: 60 Stylish Projects to Transform Your Home'' (2001); * ''Debbie Travis' Painted House: More than 35 Quick and Easy Finishes for Walls, Floors, and Furniture'' (2002); * ''Debbie Travis' Painted House Kids' Rooms: More than 80 Innovative Projects from Cradle to College'' (2002); * ''Debbie Travis' Painted House Bedrooms: More Than 40 Inspiring Projects for Your Personal Sanctuary'' (2002); * ''Debbie Travis' Painted House Kitchens and Baths: More than 50 Innovative Projects for an Exciting New Look at Any Budget'' (2003); * ''Debbie Travis' Facelift: Solutions to Revitalize Your Home'' (2005); * ''Not Guilty: My Guide to Working Hard, Raising Kids and Laughing through the Chaos'' (2009);

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Debbie Female models from Quebec Canadian interior designers English female models English emigrants to Canada English interior designers Participants in Canadian reality television series People from Blackburn Models from Montreal People from Rochdale 1960 births Living people Models from Lancashire Canadian women designers