Antoni Porowski

Porowski was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Polish parents after they emigrated to Canada with his two older sisters. His father is a physician.[2] He grew up speaking Polish, English, and French.[2] He and his parents moved to Glade Springs, West Virginia, when he was twelve, and he lived between there and Montreal throughout his high school years before finally returning to Montreal to attend Marianopolis College and then university.[3] Porowski and his mother do not have a good relationship, as revealed in season four of Queer Eye.[4]

After graduating from Concordia University with a bachelor's degree in Psychology, Porowski moved to New York City to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, from which he graduated in 2011.[2][5][6][7] He taught himself to cook by referring to his grandmother's cooking techniques.[8][9] He is also a close friend of the original Queer Eye’s cooking expert and sommelier Ted Allen, who was a mentor.[10]

Upon moving to New York City, Porowski began auditioning for various acting roles. He has stated that being Polish made it difficult for him to find work, which at the time made him consider anglicizing his last name.[2] He has landed roles in movies such as Elliot Loves (2012), Daddy's Boy (2016), The Pretenders (2018), and as the lead officer in a 2014 episode of TV series The Blacklist.[11] Porowski was also featured in the 2015 short docudrama about the Vinnytsia massacre, To My Father, as Adam Bandrowski.[12] The short film was part of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner.

In the meantime, he worked in food service to cover his rent, first working as a busboy at a family-run Polish restaurant.[6] He worked his way up in the restaurant industry, working as a waiter and sommelier, eventually managing a Bond Street sushi restaurant.[2][13] Porowski lives in the same neighborhood as Ted Allen, the original Queer Eye food and wine expert and current host of Food Network cooking competition Chopped. The two became friends, and for a time Porowski worked for Allen as a personal chef.[3][11]

In December 2017, it was announced that Porowski would play the role of food and wine expert in the Netflix revival of Queer Eye, which began airing in February 2018.[14] The second season of the show was released in June 2018.

In April 2018, Porowski signed a deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for his first cookbook, released in Spring 2019.[15] In June 2018, he announced that he would be opening The Village Den, a fast-casual restaurant in New York City's West Village.[13] Additionally, Porowski deals vintage furniture.[16]

On September 10, 2018, Porowski alongside co-hosts of Queer Eye received an Emmy for Outstanding Structured Reality Program.[17]

Porowski was featured in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video, released on June 17, 2019.[18]

In November 2019, he was named Sexiest Reality Star, in People's annual list.[19]

Porowski states that his sexuality is "a little more fluid along the spectrum" and prefers not to label himself.[20] He dated Joey Krietemeyer for more than seven years before announcing their split in October 2018.[21]

Porowski and his Queer Eye costar Jonathan Van Ness trolled the internet by setting up a joint Instagram account, pretending to be a couple. Later they confirmed that there was nothing serious to it.[22]

• Antoni in the Kitchen (2019)
• Antoni: Let's Do Dinner (2021)

• Official website
• Antoni Porowski at IMDb
• Antoni Porowski on Instagram
• Antoni Porowski on Twitter