David Furnish

{{Infobox person

| name = David Furnish

| image = David Furnish at St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom on 14 October 2024 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Furnish in 2024

| birthname = David James Furnish

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1962|10|25}}

| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada{{cite web|url=http://www.talktalk.co.uk/celebrity/biography/person/david-furnish/48|title=David Furnish bio at TalkTalk.co.uk|author=Talk Talk|author-link=Talk Talk|access-date=9 December 2011}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Filmmaker, producer, director

| education = {{plainlist|

Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute (1981)
University of Western Ontario (1985)}}

| years_active = 1997–present

| spouse = {{marriage|Elton John|2014}}

| children = 2

}}

David James Furnish (born 25 October 1962) is a Canadian filmmaker and former advertising executive. He is the husband of English singer, pianist and composer Sir Elton John.{{cite web|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/12/21/photos-sir-elton-john-and-david-furnish-marry/ |title=Photos: Sir Elton John and David Furnish marry · PinkNews |publisher=Pinknews.co.uk |date=21 December 2014 |access-date=4 June 2018}}

Early life and education

David Furnish was born in Toronto, Ontario at Women's College Hospital, the son of Gladys and Jack Furnish, a director at the Bristol-Myers pharmaceutical company.{{Cite web |title=Matt & Andrej Koymasky - Famous GLTB - David Furnish |url=http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biof3/furnis01.html |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=andrejkoymasky.com}} He has an older brother, John, and a younger brother, Peter. Furnish graduated from the Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute in 1981 and received an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (HBA) from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario in 1985.

Career

After graduation, he was recruited by the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Canada in Toronto. At 27, he asked his firm to transfer him to their UK principal offices in London. Furnish flourished in England, becoming the firm's youngest Director of Account Services.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2015/06/26/pride-grand-marshal-david-furnish-reflects-on-growing-up-gay-in-a-very-different-toronto.html |title=Pride grand marshal David Furnish reflects on growing up gay in a very different Toronto |work=Toronto Star |date=26 June 2015 |access-date=28 June 2015 }}

Furnish is co-chief of Rocket Pictures along with his husband, Sir Elton John. Furnish serves on the board of the Elton John AIDS Foundation as chairman,{{cite web |last1=Boffey |first1=Daniel |title=David Furnish on wiping out HIV/Aids, the ‘weaponisation’ of LGBTQ+ rights … and the day Putin called |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/09/david-furnish-on-wiping-out-hivaids-the-weaponisation-of-lgbtq-rights-and-the-day-putin-called |website=The Guardian |access-date=29 April 2025 |date=9 June 2023}} attending fund-raising events and other events in support of that cause.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

Furnish is a contributing editor for Tatler magazine and also is a regular columnist for Interview and GQ.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

In 2015, he was named one of GQ{{'}}s 50 best dressed men in Britain.{{cite news|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2015-01/05/best-dressed-men-2015/|title=50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015|date=5 January 2015|work=GQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107145128/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2015-01/05/best-dressed-men-2015|archive-date=7 January 2015|url-status=dead}}

In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Queerty named him, along with John, as one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".{{Cite web|url=https://www.queerty.com/pride50|title=Queerty Pride50 2019 Honorees|website=Queerty|language=en-US|access-date=18 June 2019}}

Personal life

Furnish began a relationship with singer Elton John in 1993. John proposed to Furnish in May 2005 at a dinner party with friends and family at one of their homes in Old Windsor. Furnish and John entered into a civil partnership on 21 December 2005, the first day that civil partnerships could be performed in England, in the town of Windsor, Berkshire.{{cite web |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-28/entertainment/elton.john.baby_1_baby-boy-civil-partnership-ceremony-windsor-guildhall?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ |title=Elton John and David Furnish are dads |publisher=CNN |date=28 December 2010 |access-date=7 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319200124/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-28/entertainment/elton.john.baby_1_baby-boy-civil-partnership-ceremony-windsor-guildhall?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ |archive-date=19 March 2011 |url-status=dead }} Their first child was born on 25 December 2010 in California via surrogacy.

On 11 January 2013, the couple's second son was born through the same surrogate as their first.{{cite web |url=http://www.eltonjohn.com/news/news_details.aspx?postid=19034cc6-3ced-433a-ba29-c83eeb8c3cf4 |title=Special Announcement |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120013211/http://www.eltonjohn.com/news/news_details.aspx?postid=19034cc6-3ced-433a-ba29-c83eeb8c3cf4 |archive-date=20 January 2013}} After same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in March 2014, Furnish and John retroactively converted their civil partnership into a marriage and marked the occasion with a ceremony in Windsor on 21 December 2014, the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership.{{Cite news |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30568634|title = Sir Elton John and David Furnish marry|publisher=BBC|date = 21 December 2014 |access-date = 21 December 2014}}

In 2016, Furnish sought an anonymised privacy injunction in the case PJS v News Group Newspapers Ltd.{{Cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/british-papers-can-report-furnishs-infidelity|title = British papers can report Furnish's infidelity| newspaper=The Straits Times |date = 20 April 2016}}

Filmography

Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras; director (1997){{Citation|title=Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124158/|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Women Talking Dirty; producer (1999){{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/women-talking-dirty-1200459510/|title=Women Talking Dirty|last=Elley|first=Derek|date=11 October 1999|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Desert Flower; co-producer (1999)
Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm; executive producer (2002)
Fame and Fashion: Inside Gucci – Sex and Fashion; director, script writer (2002){{Cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/film-and-tv/in-my-view-sex-and-fashion-inside-gucci-1178420|title=In my view: Sex and Fashion: Inside Gucci|date=13 January 2013|work= Manchester Evening News|access-date=12 July 2023}}
Fame and Fashion: Inside Versace – Fame and Fashion; director, script writer (2002){{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b88a0a6b2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411170319/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b88a0a6b2|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2018|title=Inside Versace Fame and Fashion (2002)|website=BFI|language=en|access-date=10 June 2019}}
It's a Boy Girl Thing; producer (2006){{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/dec/31/comedy.sciencefictionandfantasy|title=It's a Boy Girl Thing|last=French|first=Philip|date=31 December 2006|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 June 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}
Pride and Predator; producer (announced 2009){{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/17/pride-and-predator-to-give-jane-austen-extreme-makeover|title=Pride and Predator to give Jane Austen an extreme makeover|last=Child|first=Ben|date=17 February 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 June 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}
Gnomeo & Juliet; producer (2011){{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/gnomeo-and-juliet-exclusive-interview-with-elton-john-and-david-furnish-2209082.html|title=Gnomeo and Juliet: Exclusive interview with Elton John and David|date=9 February 2011|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Billy Elliot the Musical Live; executive producer (2014){{Cite web|url=http://billyelliotthemusical.com/creative/david-furnish/|title=David Furnish|website=Billy Elliot Tour|language=en-US|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Virtuoso; executive producer (2015){{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hbo-virtuoso-pilot-order-alan-ball-elton-john-1201415580/|title=HBO Orders Musical Period Drama Pilot From Elton John & 'True Blood' Creator|last=Wagmeister|first=Elizabeth|date=27 January 2015|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Sherlock Gnomes; producer (2018){{Cite web|url=http://film.britishcouncil.org/sherlock-gnomes|title=British Council Film: Sherlock Gnomes|website=film.britishcouncil.org|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Rocketman; producer (2019){{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/david-furnish-says-elton-john-biopic-rocketman-is-giving-him-sleepless-nights-37844545.html|title=David Furnish says Elton John biopic Rocketman is giving him 'sleepless nights'|website=Irish Independent|date=22 February 2019 |language=en|access-date=10 June 2019}}
Elton John: Never Too Late, director (2024)Stephen Daw, [https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/elton-john-documentary-premiere-toronto-film-festival-1235712612/ "Elton John’s New Documentary ‘Never Too Late’ to Debut at Toronto International Film Festival"]. Billboard, June 18, 2024.