Ty Pennington biography

In each episode, a deserving family—one who has faced a variety of challenges and setbacks—has their home redone by Pennington and his team of designers with the help of local builders and volunteers.

"What's cool about what we do is that we lead a team of people from the community, so it's neighbors helping neighbors. The show isn't like anything else on TV because it does something positive that makes a permanent difference. It's real and it's tangible,??

" Pennington told the Saturday Evening Post in 2008.

Pennington is clearly dedicated to the people and projects featured on the show. After undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis in 2005, he continued working on that week's renovations—two episodes are shot at the same time??—from his hospital bed. That same year, Pennington also launched his own line of bath, bedding and other home accessories, called Ty Pennington Style, through the Sears department store chain.

In 2007, the premier issue of his new magazine, Ty Pennington at Home, hit the newsstands. He also made the headlines around this time after being arrested for drunk driving. "??I made an error in judgment," Pennington said in a statement obtained by People magazine. "I could have jeopardized the lives of others and I am grateful there was no accident or harm done to anyone. This was my wake-up call." He was later fined $1,500, ordered to enroll in an alcohol-education program, and sentenced to three years' probation.

Overcoming this personal challenge, Pennington has stayed on as the popular and boisterous host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition while continuing to expand his many business interests. In 2008, he signed a deal with Howard Miller for a new line of high-end furniture. His second book, How Good Design Can Change Your Life, was published in the fall of 2008.

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