Fashion Designer. Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Ellis grew up in an old house full of old vintage clothing with his parents and grandmother. He would just like to sit there and look at all these clothes owned by his aunts. After graduating from high school he majored in business at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and New York University, where he earned a master’s degree in retailing. He moved back to Virginia in 1963 worked for a top department store where he spent nearly $1,000,000, on clothes alone. In 1967 he was made a full partner in and completely took over when the President died. By 1978 he had his own business called Perry Ellis Sportswear. In 1982 he had over 75 employees working for him out of the showroom on 41st Street. In 1982 Ellis’s health began to fail, when he developed hepatitis. In 1984 his longtime girlfriend, gave birth to there daughter Tyler. In May 1986 while at one of his show’s for his line of clothing he fell ill and returned home. A few hours after the show he was rushed to the hospital, and he died 2 weeks later at the age of 46.  Family links:  Spouse:  Laughlin McClatchy Barker (1948 – 1986)* *Calculated relationship