P.G.D. Style Biography

P.G.D. Style's Biography

Melissa Biggs, former “Baywatch” actress and now President, Founder and Designer of P.G.D. Style, the luxurious women’s knitwear brand, developed the collection with one thing in mind…how her clothes make a woman feel. Melissa believes the P.G.D. Collection should feel like a flawless, second layer of skin…and it does. Biggs’ is known for her intrinsic sense of style, pairing classic and timeless pieces with catwalk couture silhouettes.

Having grown up in a small town in Oregon, Biggs’ creative side was apparent at an early age. At age eleven, she studied drama and dance and worked as a model in Portland, starring in TV commercials and print ads. With no prior intention to pursue a career in fashion, she went on to appear in the TV show ‘Baywatch’, the film ‘The Disappearance of Nora’ and ‘Rush Hour 2’.

Drawn to Charleston, SC, she formed a talent agency, ‘Nova Models & Talent’. Nova assisted in the casting of ‘Die Hard 3’, ‘Something to Talk About’ and ‘Ace Ventura, Pet Detective’ starring Jim Carrey. In addition to Nova, Melissa created, ‘Acting Up’, an acting school and theatrical production company where she wrote, produced and directed shows for children of all ages.

In 1998, she relocated to Las Vegas, NV, to begin taping two seasons of ‘Roller Jam’ for TNT and spent the next four years on camera, appearing in ‘Lucky Town’ with James Caan, and the French Magazine, ‘Max Mode’. When not modeling, she worked as an assistant designer for a major furnishings design house. Her knack for fashion design, sales and marketing become absolutely apparent and it was here that her new passion was born.

In 2004 Melissa founded MacyJane Enterprises, Inc., a design house of her own, focusing on a line of consumer products targeting Wal*Mart. She mentored under good friend, Paul Marciano, CEO of Guess? Inc., designing and developing a line of coordinating pet products called ‘Royal-T Designs TM. Paul took Melissa under his wing, instilling many core values including his advice to ‘grow slow and stay true to yourself’, which she holds to this day. Her efforts eventually took her to Shanghai, China, where she won an award for ‘Best Presentation’, at the Wal*Mart Buyers Convention and most of the line was picked up.

In 2006 and now eager to reinvent herself yet again, Melissa set out to design the perfect T-shirt and viola, P.G.D. Style was born. Her vision led to an upscale and luxurious label known for its ultra soft fabrics and supreme couture fit. And in just over a year, her designs were in over 100 boutiques worldwide.

In the midst of her efforts, Melissa was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AAT) - A protein deficiency that is incurable and fatal if left untreated. In a person without the AAT protein, which breaks down the body’s own natural enzymes, the enzymes are left to attack the vital organs such as the lungs and liver. More shockingly, AAT affects millions of people, while only an estimated three thousand in the U.S. are on treatment.

In 2007 Melissa decided to act and what was initially planned to be for fun, would now be for a cause and P.G.D. would be manufactured with a percentage of proceeds being donated to help find a cure.

In September of that year Melissa planned, produced and hosted a first annual west coast charity event and raised $30,000 for the cause. She has since teamed up with several organizations such as the Bio Therapeutics Company, CSL Behring and a non-profit organization, The Alpha-1 Foundation to get the word out.

Today Melissa is President, Founder and Designer of P.G.D. Style, an exclusive women’s contemporary clothing line that’s exploding all over the world and helping to raise money to find a cure for a devastating disease that affects so many. She is a board member for two non-profit organizations and the national spokesperson for AAT.

In addition to her awareness campaign and clothing line, Melissa is working on a personal and inspirational memoir about her life experiences with its anticipated release set for sometime in ’09.

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