Personal Life
Berkus was born in Orange County, California, and grew up mainly in suburban Minneapolis. He is Jewish and openly gay. He attended Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. He started working in design immediately after leaving high school and interned at Dominique Aurientis in Paris and Sotheby's in Chicago. Berkus graduated from Lake Forest College near Chicago in 1994 with degrees in French and Sociology. Berkus founded the company, Nate Berkus Associates, in Chicago in 1995.
Berkus is related to the venture capitalist David Berkus, architect Barry Berkus, musician/artist Gunther Berkus, Josh Berkus of Software in the Public Interest, casino manager /author Eric David Berkus, and western states lawyer Matt Berkus. Designer Nancy Golden from HGTV and DIY networks is his mother.
In December 2004 Berkus and his partner, photographer Fernando Bengoechea, were vacationing at a beach resort in Sri Lanka when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit. While Berkus survived, Bengoechea is missing and presumed dead. Berkus appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on January 17, 2005, to talk about his ordeal and the loss of his love.
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