Billy Dec is an American television personality, actor, and businessman in the entertainment and hospitality industries. He is the CEO/Founder of hospitality management company Rockit Ranch, marketing agency COACT, and human resources firm HR Pro. He makes regular television appearances discussing food and entertainment, and his acting credits include ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' and ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

''. He also hosts a podcast, ''The Meal of Your Life!''. Dec has also served on the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, the White House Bullying Prevention Task Force, and was the director of cultural relations on the Chicago 2016 Olympic committee.

Early life and education

Dec was born and raised in Chicago, and educated at St. Clement School and the Latin School of Chicago. Upon graduation, Dec attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...

, majoring in Economics/Pre-Law.Hipster club owner Billy Dec analyzes the science of Chicago’s scene
Who The Heck Is Billy Dec?
/ref> During his time in college, he worked as a nightclub bouncer. After graduation, he was offered a job as a promoter, but turned it down to attend law school at

Chicago Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

Hospitality industry

During his first year of law school, Dec established his first club, Solo. While in law school, he went on to open Equinox Wine Bar, Dragon Room, Circus and The Bedroom. In 2002, Dec and business partner Brad Young formed Rockit Ranch Productions, a restaurant and nightclub development and management company. Their first nightclub venture was Le Passage Nightclub, and their first restaurant was Rockit Bar and Grill, a restaurant themed around rock music. The company went on to open more venues including Rockit, Underground, Sunda, and Rockit Burger Bar.

Entertainment industry

In 2015, Dec launched a Chicago-based production company, Elston Films, with his wife Kat Stephans and producers DeAnna Cooper and Kevin Cooper. Dec hosts a podcast entitled ''The Meal of Your Life'', in which he interviews celebrity guests about a defining meal that has affected their lives. Past guests include

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...

Andrew Zimmern Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Chan ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

Carla Hall Carla Hall (born May 12, 1964) is an American chef, television personality and former model. She appeared in the fifth and eighth seasons of ''Top Chef'', Bravo's cooking competition show. She was a cohost on ''The Chew'', a one-hour talk sh ...

Ming Tsai Ming Hao Tsai (; born March 29, 1964) is an American restaurateur, television personality, and celebrity chef. Tsai's restaurants have focused on east–west fusion cuisine, and have included major stakes in Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachuse ...

Curtis Stone Curtis Travis Stone (born 4 November 1975) is an Australian celebrity chef, author and television personality. Stone has been the fresh food and recipes ambassador for Coles Supermarkets in Australia since 2010. Early life Stone was born in ...

, and

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...

Charity work

Dec is a supporter of several non-profit organizations and charity events based in Chicago, including Make-A-Wish Illinois,

Best Buddies Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers t ...

, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, the

Lookingglass Theatre Company Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company in Chicago, Illinois. History Lookingglass was founded in 1988 by David Schwimmer, David Catlin, Eva Barr, Thom Cox, Lawrence DiStasi, Joy Gregory, David Kersnar, and Andy White. The co ...

, and Maggie Daley's After School Matters. He was the director of cultural relations on the Chicago 2016 Olympic committee, responsible for attracting celebrity support for the city's Olympic bid.

Personal life

In 2009, Dec married Katherine Stephans.

Filmography

Film and television

* 2019: ''Food. Roots.'', Himself * 2018: ''Mollywood'', Rush * 2018: ''Miss Arizona'', DJ Solid * 2018: ''The Law of Moises'', Jim Boone * 2017: ''Chasing the Blues'', Officer Frye * 2016: ''Chicago Fire'', FF Belzer * 2016: ''Chasing Gold'', Taze * 2016: ''American Crime Story'', expert * 2016: ''Jessica'', Gerry * 2015: ''Chasing Grace'', Officer Reddick * 2015: ''Entourage'', Billy Dec * 2015: ''Powers'', cop * 2015: ''Empire'', Alan Lester * 2014: ''Criminal Minds'', Detective Paul Rosado * 2014: ''NightLights'', medic #1 * 2013: ''One Small Hitch'', concierge * 2012: ''I Heart Shakey'', party patron * 2012: ''Adventures in the Sin Bin'', REO Monitor * 2011: ''The Chicago Code'', receptionist * 2011: ''The Rites of Joy May'', hipster * 2009: ''Entourage'', agent * 2009: ''The Beast'', agent / FBI Tactical Officer * 2009: ''Baby on Board'', attorney * 1999-2004: ''Friends'', multiple characters * 1996: ''Book of Swords'', martial arts fighter

Television guest appearances

* 2019: ''Today in Nashville'', guest * 2018: ''Today in Nashville'', guest cohost * 2007-2019: ''Today Show'', food contributor * 2016: ''Weekend Today'', guest * 2016: ''The Meredith Vieira Show'', guest * 2011-2016: ''Windy City LIVE'', entertainment contributor * 2014: ''Frankenfood'', guest judge * 2014: ''Good Morning America'', food contributor * 2014: ''Chicagoland'', guest * 2014: ''Fox & Friends'', food contributor * 2008: ''24/7 Chicago'', host

Awards

References

External links

Official Website of Billy Dec

Billy Dec's blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dec, Billy Latin School of Chicago alumni Living people American people of Filipino descent Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from Chicago Year of birth missing (living people) Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni