Gavin de Becker was born in 1954 to acclaimed film and theatre performers Hal de Becker and Frances Katz—who divorced when de Becker was three. Katz struggled with addiction to heroin and was abusive to her two children. In the early chapters of The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, de Becker recalls his mother shooting her then husband. This incident provided his first insights into behavioral prediction, and pushed him to protect and educate others. When Katz died by suicide when he was 16, he moved in with a friend whose mother was singer and actress Rosemary Clooney. De Becker’s foray into the protection of public figures began with his work as Clooney’s assistant; his next client was actress Elizabeth Taylor. In the late 1970s, he founded his security firm Gavin de Becker & Associates in Los Angeles, which provides solutions for individuals and government agencies.

Since its inception, the firm maintains operational presence in 27 cities across the United States. The Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, United States Secret Service, United States Supreme Court, and United States Congress have all enlisted de Becker’s team over the course of his career.