Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion. He then worked at a number of fashion houses, both in Paris and New York, including Harmay and Teal Traina.
In 1963 he started his own company, Geoffrey Beene, Inc., with a showroom located on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. His clients included such notables as Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Nancy Reagan, Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close







