Desiree Gruber

Desiree Gruber (born June 25, 1967) is an American television producer, investor, and entrepreneur. She was an executive producer of the fashion reality television competition Project Runway She is also the founder and CEO of a creative agency, Full Picture.

Early life and education Gruber was born on June 25, 1967, in Miami, Florida. In the beginning, her works included Victoria's Secret supermodel Heidi Klum and designer Roberto Cavalli. She had also done some advising to supermodel Naomi Campbell. and unscripted projects at FOX, NBC, and CBS.

In 2023, she was added to the CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board, to help select CNBC's annual Changemakers award list recognizing notable women in the business world.

With her husband, Kyle MacLachlan, Gruber produced PodcastOne's Varnamtown podcast alongside Epic Magazine co-founder Joshua Davis. The true crime series explores Varnamtown, North Carolina's ties to Pablo Escobar.

In 2025, Gruber and MacLachlan launched What Are We Even Doing?, a weekly series in which MacLachlan interviews younger actors and artists about their creative processes. Distributed by iHeartRadio's Elvis Duran Podcast Network, the podcast has featured guests such as Kaia Gerber, Dylan O'Brien, Benito Skinner, and Caleb Hearon.

Project Runway In 2004, Gruber developed Project Runway alongside Heidi Klum and Full Picture's television department. She produced the series through its sixteenth season, receiving a Peabody Award in 2007 and 14 Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program.

Gruber was also an executive producer on spinoff series Project Runway: Junior, Project Runway: Threads, and Models of the Runway.

Investments In 2016, she joined Nir Liberboim to co-found DGNL Ventures, Gruber has also invested in Unrivaled, YUMI, Cymbiotika, and Phia, an AI-powered shopping assistant co-founded by Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates.

She previously co-founded, Theodora and Callum, "an accessories-based line inspired by world travel."

Philanthropy In 2016, Gruber worked with former First Lady Michelle Obama on her "Let Girls Learn" campaign. In 2018, she was honored alongside Ringo Starr at the organization's annual Snowflake Ball, where she received the Spirit of Compassion Award for her work.

Since 2001, she is a board member of God's Love We Deliver, which provides meals for people living with life-threatening illnesses. She began volunteering with the organization shortly after her brother, Jeff, died from AIDS-related complications in 1989.

Personal life Gruber met and began a relationship with actor Kyle MacLachlan in 1999. They previously had two dogs, Mookie and Sam, who were featured in an early YouTube webseries. , they have a Jack Russell Terrier-poodle mix named Elvis.

Awards and nominations Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2005 Outstanding Reality-Competition Program Project Runway (Season 1) 2006 Project Runway (Season 2) 2007 Project Runway (Season 3) 2008 Project Runway (Season 4) 2009 Project Runway (Season 5) 2010 Project Runway (Seasons 6-7) 2011 Project Runway (Season 8) 2012 Project Runway (Season 9) 2013 Project Runway (Seasons 10-11) 2014 Project Runway (Season 12) 2015 Project Runway (Season 13) 2016 Project Runway (Season 14) 2017 Project Runway (Season 15) 2018 Project Runway (Season 16)

Ref.

Peabody Awards Project Runway, "for using the television reality contest genre to engage, inform, enlighten and entertain."

Fortune Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs