Chip, BBA '98 and Joanna Gaines, BA '01
Alumni of the Year
Awarded to a graduate or graduates who have demonstrated remarkable achievement in the previous year.
As stars of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper, the Gaineses attracted a national audience of more than 24 million viewers during Season 2 of their show, which first aired in 2015. Viewers have responded to the Gaineses’ working relationship and sense of style in renovating and restoring homes, and to the scenes of the Waco area featured in every episode.
Chip, BBA ’98, is an entrepreneur who has run a variety of businesses since his college days, beginning with landscaping, fireworks stands and laundry services. Over the past 15 years, he developed an expertise in Waco real estate, including rental property, flipping houses, construction and home renovation.
A background in communications at Baylor—including television and radio experience and New York internship at 48 Hours with Dan Rather—helped Joanna, BBA ’01, to be comfortable in front of the cameras for HGTV, as did her roles in local television commercials for her father’s Waco business, Jerry Stevens Firestone.
Chip and Joanna shared a semester at Baylor in fall 1998 but didn’t meet until 2001. They married in 2003 and soon after started a business together, Magnolia Market. There, Joanna honed her eye for appealing home décor and designing interior spaces. Her blog posts caught the attention of High Noon Productions, a television production company, which then approached the couple about making a television show.
The Gaineses’ commitment to keep their Fixer Upper renovation projects within the Waco area draws attention to Waco and Baylor, with clips of beautiful spots around town and on campus airing in every episode. In addition, 17 of the first 26 episodes featured Baylor alumni, faculty and staff and their homes. It is no coincidence that during Fixer Upper Season 2, Realtor.com reports listed Waco as the No. 1 “Hottest Housing Market in the U.S.”
In addition to a commitment to film the show through Season 6, Chip and Joanna continue to grow their company, Magnolia, and its brand. Opening this fall in downtown Waco is the new Magnolia headquarters, the hub for a monthly market and Magnolia’s ventures in home renovation and construction, retail home décor and a real estate. A furniture line is scheduled for release this fall, followed by the release of Joanna’s paint line, a design book and the couple’s memoir.