Derek Kaplan Biography
Derek Kaplan is a British-Zimbabean self-taught, abstract artist now living and working in New York City known for being married to “Million Dollar Listing New York” star Fredrik Eklund.
Being a young boy growing up in Southern Africa, Derek was inspired by the colors and the natural beauty of the tropical grasslands that make up the African savanna.
Though rainfall was infrequent during the long dry season, when it got to rain, the clouds and storms that accompanied it inspired Derek’s earliest paintings.
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He excelled at art and gained recognition by his teachers throughout his school years. Derek’s high school art teacher was so impressed with Derek’s work that he encouraged him to advance his studies in art after high school, but Derek decided to pursue a more financially stable path.
Derek moved to London at the age of 21 where he lived for 15 years. He always dreamt of going back to painting full-time, he pursued many different career paths and entrepreneurial ventures. He finally decided to become a full time artist and began selling his work privately through word of mouth to friends and to collectors.
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Derek Kaplan Photo
Derek Kaplan Age
Kaplan was born on 20 February, 1975 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is 44 years old as of 2019.
Derek Kaplan Family
Kaplan has not shared any information regarding his father, mother or siblings.
Derek Kaplan Husband
Kaplan married the noted New York realtor Fredrick Eklund on 9 February 2013 on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys. Kaplan and Eklund lived in New York with their dogs Mouse and Fritzy until 2016.
Derek Kaplan House
They moved to Roxbury, Connecticut, to live in a mansion Eklund purchased. The couple’s home is located in Beverly Hills, the house has stunning view of the city and an infinity edge pool that twins Milla and Freddy are taking full advantage of.
Their home’s main level has floor-to-ceiling windows, showcasing the aforementioned stunning pool and city views combo.
Derek Kaplan Miscarriage
Kapland and Eklund attempted to have children through surrogacy, but the surrogate suffered a miscarriage. Eklund shared the sad news of their miscarriage on on Instagram with a lengthy post.
I’m sad to share we’ve had a failed pregnancy. I have cried so much that I can’t cry anymore. We were pregnant with twins but we’re not anymore. I chose to share this here, because I made this quest for Milla (and hopefully her sibling) public a long time ago. Every day I meet people congratulating me and Derek on the baby news, I get baby clothes sent to the office by kind strangers, and it seems that more people are invested in our little family than I could ever imagine. Our family is no different from yours… we just want to build our own unit of love in our own home. The last couple of days I couldn’t take it anymore, to upkeep this perception of happiness and success when I’ve been a total sad mess inside. I’ve felt like a failure and that I’ll never get to where I want to go: for me and Derek to finally become parents. I’ve heard these stories so many times before, about couples who’ve tried so hard and for so long but now I fully understand how difficult it can be. I try to zoom out and see the bigger picture. It’s hard most of the time. It gets a little better. It does. Derek is so kind, especially at night when I’ve been the saddest. We do have the dogs. We have our family and friends. They say it’s common in the first ten weeks. Mini kisses my salty tears. And we will try again. We have to. I’m not giving up. We’re just not going to give up! We have to go on and simply try again. Yet, I wonder… where is she now? Is she already out there somewhere, above? Is she waiting for us like she’s always been waiting, just a little longer? Can she see all of this, but just doesn’t have a worldly form yet to reach out, give me a sign and make me stronger?
Derek Kaplan Kids
Derek has a so Kai, on an episode of the season 6 of Million Dollar Listing Ney York, his husband Eklund opened up about Kai. He explains that Kaplan donated his sperm to a lesbian couple he met in London. The lesbian couple got pregnant on their first try and had Kai. Kai has been part of Eklund’s life ever since he met Derek.
Derek Kaplan’s cute family with Fredrick Eklund
In November 2017, the couple welcomed a beautiful set of twins via a surrogate: daughter Milla and son Fredrik Jr.
Derek Kaplan Career
He had his first solo show in June, 2013 at the Couture Gallery Contemporary Art Space in Stockholm, Sweden. The members of the Swedish Royal family attended the opening reception and all of the works on exhibit were sold on that very evening. Afterwards, Kaplan had his first exhibit at a gallery in the Chelsea Art District in Manhattan where he repeated his success in Stockholm by again selling all of the works on exhibit.
Kaplan exhibited new work at a gallery on Bleecker Street in Manhattan’s West Village in March 2014. Kaplan continues to sell to a growing list of private clients and, in addition, his works have been used to help stage multi-million dollar properties in Manhattan’s demanding real estate market.
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