What Ever Happened to Carson Kressley?

Looking back at our shows, we often wonder about the people who've left. Where did they go when their moment in the Bravo spotlight was over? What are they up to now? Each week, we'll be looking into the lives of one of these familiar faces. Today, it's Carson Kressley from Queer Eye For the Straight Guy.

Carson Kressley charmed audiences as the fashion-savvy style expert among the "Fab Five" on Bravo's Emmy-winning series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy from its very first episode in 2003. "We were there to do something pretty innocuous—give somebody a makeover," he told Variety. "And the end result was opening people's eyes to what being gay is all about, that it's not scary or threatening. We're just people like the rest of their families and friends."

He's been a very busy man ever since. After Queer Eye wound down in 2007, Carson started hosting Lifetime's How to Look Good Naked. In 2010, he hosted the second season of ABC's True Beauty. And in 2011, he starred on Carson Nation, an hour-long reality show on OWN where he traveled to small towns across the country giving makeovers to sartorially challenged fans. The same year, he also competed on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

In 2012, the fashion guru launched his own signature line of women's sportswear and accessories, "Love, Carson." And in March 2015, he made his well-received debut as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race —a job he takes "very seriously," Carson told Instinct magazine. "Growing up in New York, going to all the great clubs in the '90s and '00s, and seeing all the amazing queens over the years, I envision myself as a connoisseur of drag."

His next project? His third book, a women's style guide, is reportedly in the works. And in March 2015, Carson revealed he'd welcome the chance to help revive E!'s troubled Fashion Police series following Joan Rivers' death and the drama surrounding Kathy Griffin and Kelly Osbourne's exits this spring. "I've been around the block, so to speak, and I have done all the red carpets and worked with all these people, and I have the chops to talk about what they're actually wearing," he told Access Hollywood.

"The key is, Let's not take it so seriously. It's people walking around on red carpet and they're all making millions of dollars," he added. "You can take a little flack. As long as it's not, I guess, personal. It's about the clothes."

The longtime equestrian is also now an award-wining horse exhibitor and still rides his American Saddlebreds as often as he can. He's remained close with his Queer Eye costars and is proud of what they did more than a decade ago. "We may not have eradicated pleated khakis," he told Variety. "But I think we’ve done some good in the world, and that feels pretty fantastic."

[Sources: Variety, Instinct Magazine, Access Hollywood]