Brune was born and raised by Southern Baptist parents in Renton, Washington. He studied dance at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, before moving to California in 2000, at age 19, in pursuit of an acting career. He studied acting for two years at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, and then moved to Los Angeles to focus on getting commercial work. Told by his management company that in order to become a successful actor he needed to pretend to be straight, he rejected the advice and decided to change course and become a chef. In 2005, he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. While there, he became certified as a personal trainer and started teaching boot camp classes.
Career
Chef and personal trainer
In 2006, while he was finishing up culinary school, and after developing a following teaching at Barry's Boot Camp, Brune was cast as one of the trainers on the Bravo reality television showWork Out, about the goings on at a high-end Beverly Hills gym run by Jackie Warner. Featured as both a trainer and a chef, he was on the show for its entire original three-season run. After it ended, he moved back to Seattle to launch a new business venture, but with the economic downturn, he lost a key investor. He decided to return to Los Angeles, where he began studying Buddhism, meditation and spiritual living, and working as a personal lifestyle coach. Brune appeared as a chef on Private Chefs of Beverly Hills on the Food Network for both seasons. The show, which premiered in December 2009, follows six chefs in Beverly Hills as they cater events for high-end clients. Starting in 2011, he has spent three seasons as a resident chef on Home Made Simple on OWN. The show was nominated for a 2014 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Show. In 2015 the show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Show. With a focus on healthy alternatives and organic cooking, Brune's recipes have been featured in Us Weekly, and his fitness tips have been highlighted in Life & Style and OK! magazines. He has worked as a spokesperson for Nair for Men, taught classes at Epicurean and other culinary schools, and teaches spin classes in Los Angeles.
Inspire Spiritual Community
Inspire Spiritual Community is a Los Angeles-based spiritual community focused on supporting members of the LGBTQ community, helping them find peace of mind and transform their lives for the better. Founded by Brune and Jennifer Hadley, the nonprofit was launched in 2010, with Brune serving as executive director. In 2015, Project Service LA changed its name to Inspire Spiritual Community.
Personal life
Brune is openly gay. He came out of the closet in 1995, at the age of 15. He married writer Christopher Horan on February 15, 2014, becoming Jesse Brune-Horan.
