Michael John Bergin (born March 18, 1969) is an American real estate agent and former model and actor.

Early life

Born in

Naugatuck, Connecticut Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which ...

, Bergin attended the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. He began modeling while in college.

Career

Bergin is perhaps best known as

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

's successor in

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

's racy series of black-and-white

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

ads. In addition to his high-profile role as the "spokesbody" for Calvin Klein, Bergin has walked the runways of New York City, Paris and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

for

Sonia Rykiel Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...

, Valentino,

Gianfranco Ferré Gianfranco Ferré (; 15 August 1944 – 17 June 2007) was an Italian fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design. Early life and education Ferré was born ...

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

, Yves Saint Laurent and

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

and was the exclusive model for Claiborne for Men, a division of Liz Claiborne, Inc., for over three years. He has also appeared in commercials and print advertisements for

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

Bacardi Rum Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned Distilled beverage, spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founde ...

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...

Maybelline Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company, based in New York City. It was founded in Chicago ...

, Coty, Valentino,

Perry Ellis Perry Edwin Ellis (March 3, 1940 – May 30, 1986) was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he int ...

, and

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that co ...

. Bergin is signed to

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

in New York City, and New York Model Management. Apart from the fashion industry, Bergin also ventured into acting, playing the character J.D. Darius on ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...

'' and later '' Baywatch: Hawaii ''for 88 episodes from 1997 to 2001, and starring as the same character in the

made-for-TV Film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding'' in 2003. In 2006, he appeared on VH1's sci-fi celeb reality show ''

Celebrity Paranormal Project ''Celebrity Paranormal Project'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''CPP'') is a paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 22 to December 17, 2006, on VH1. Except for a different title and use of celebrities, the VH1 show i ...

''. Bergin later launched his own brand of men's underwear. Bergin now works as a real estate agent in Beverly Hills.

Personal life

In the early 1990s, Bergin met

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (January 7, 1966July 16, 1999) was a publicist for Calvin Klein. After her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., Bessette-Kennedy's relationship with her husband and her fashion sense became the subjects of media scr ...

, a

publicist, whom he dated seriously, despite her burgeoning relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr., whom she later married in September 1996. Kennedy and Bessette-Kennedy died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

in July 1999. In early 2004, Bergin published a book about his relationship with Bessette, ''The Other Man,'' claiming that they continued a sexual affair during the time Bessette was dating Kennedy and during their marriage. On September 24, 2004, Bergin married makeup artist Joy Tilk with whom he has two children (Jesse b. October 8, 2000; Alana b. February 16, 2004).

Philanthropy

Bergin has worked with the anti-drug children's program D.A.R.E. as a national spokesperson, and has lent his name, time, and image to numerous

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

charities.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergin, Michael 1969 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Living people Male actors from Connecticut Male models from Connecticut American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Actors from Waterbury, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni People from Naugatuck, Connecticut