Padma Lakshmi is one of the most successful cookbook authors in the world and she has been a great actress and TV personality as well. She is an American author, actress, model, TV host, and executive producer. She made her debut with the cookbook Easy Exotic, which won her the "Best First Book" award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. She has been the host of the US reality television program, Top Chef, since season two in 2006, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. She won the Emmy Award in 2010, for the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. 

How did Padma Lakshmi get famous?

• An American author, actress, model, TV host, and executive producer.
• Winner of Emmy Award and Gourmand World Cookbook Award.

Where was Padma Lakshmi born?

Talking about her early life, Padma Lakshmi was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India. Her birth name is Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidyanathan. Her dad Vaidyanathan was an executive in a pharmaceutical company, Pfizer and her mom Vijaya Lakshmi was a medical attendant who had some expertise in oncology. Lakshmi’s parents divorced when she was 2 years old. Both of her parents later remarried, and she has a younger half-brother and half-sister on her father’s side.

Lakshmi experienced her childhood in both her grandparents’ home in Chennai and her mom’s in New York. She communicates in English, Hindi, Italian, and Spanish. Tamil is her native language. She is of Tamil Indian ethnicity and holds an American nationality.

Regarding her education, Padma Lakshmi went to Workman High School in the City of Industry, California. She is a 1992 graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, where she got a B.A. with Distinction in Theater Arts.

Padma Lakshmi’s Career

• Padma Lakshmi began her modeling career at the age of 21 when she was studying in Spain. An agent had discovered her when she was sitting in a café.
• She modeled for top designers like Giorgio Armani, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, Alberta Ferretti, and Ralph Lauren. She also did ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus.
• While some designers hired her to model their winter lines, which hid her scar in layers, she also worked with top photographer Helmut Newton, who highlighted the scar on her arm. It planted an important message that beauty comes in all colors, shapes, and forms. After Newton's endorsement, other major photographers and designers began hiring her.
• She became interested in acting in 1999. Her first role was in ‘Figlio di Sandokan, an Italian pirate movie. Next, she did a role in ‘Caraibi’ (Pirates: Blood Brothers), a drama about 17th-century pirates. She also hosted Italy's top-rated television show ‘Domenica In.’ In 2001, she did a comical supporting role as a disco singer in ‘Glitter’, an American movie.
• In 2002, she starred in ‘Precious Cargo,’ an episode of the science TV series ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’. She portrayed Sean Bean's nemesis Madhuvanthi in the 2004–05 TV series ‘Sharpe's Challenge’.
• In 2003, she appeared in the film ‘Boom’ as Shiela Bardez, a supermodel accused of stealing diamonds. She portrayed the role of Geeta in Paul Mayeda Berges' film ‘The Mistress of Spices' in 2005. She also made a guest appearance on the NBC series ‘30 Rock’ in 2009 and starred in ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ in 2014.
• In 2006, she appeared in ABC's TV series ‘The Ten Commandments. She also hosts the popular television show ‘Top Chef’, which she joined in 2006. She also serves as an executive producer of the show.
• In 2009, she starred in Eels' music video for the song ‘That Look You Give That Guy,’ where she played the love interest of Mark Oliver Everett.
• Besides modeling and acting, she also writes cookbooks—the first one was ‘Easy Exotic’, a compilation of recipes from different countries. The book made her popular, and she was called to host a Food Network series called ‘Padma's Passport’.
• She also hosted ‘Planet Food’, a British culinary tourism show aired on the Food Network in the US and internationally on the Discovery Channels. It was an hour-long special on South India and Spain.
• She released her second cookbook, ‘Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet’, on October 2, 2007. Her debut memoir, ‘Love, Loss and What We Ate,’ was released on International Women's Day on March 8, 2016. She also released the ‘Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs’ in October 2016.
• She used to write a syndicated column in 'The New York Times' and has also written several articles on style for the American edition of ‘Vogue’ magazine. She wrote a column on style for ‘Harper's Bazaar’ as well.
• Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, which debuted on Hulu on 18th June 2020 was also created hosted, and executive produced by Lakshmi. She jointly broadens and redefines what American Cuisine means in Taste the Nation.
• 'Tomatoes for Neela' her first children's book, was published on 31st August 2021, and Juana Martinez-Neal provided the illustrations. It debuted at number four on the New York Times best-seller list.
• The Best American Travel Writing 2021, a compilation of articles by notable travel writers, was also guest edited by Lakshmi.

Padma Lakshmi’s Activism

Padma Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America, a nonprofit organization that legislative action about the disease, after suffering an endometriosis diagnosis when she was 36. In addition, she represents immigration and women's rights with the American Civil Liberties Union and serves as a global ambassador for the humanitarian organization Keep a Child Alive.

Padma Lakshmi’s Awards and Achievements

• Padma Lakshmi has appeared on the covers of many magazines including ‘Vogue India,’ ‘L'Officiel India,’ ‘Cosmopolitan,’ ‘Asian Woman,’ ‘Avenue,’ ‘Industry Magazine,’ ‘Marie Claire India,’ ‘Harper's Bazaar,’ and ‘Newsweek.’
• Her cookbook ‘Easy Exotic’ was awarded Best First Book at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
• In 2007, ‘Top Chef’, the program she hosted, was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. In 2009, she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for the same program ‘Top Chef’.
• On 7th March 2019, Lakshmi was chosen to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program.
• As well as in 2020-2022, Lakshmi was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for Reality or Reality-Competition Program for her work on Top Chef. 
• Moreover, Lakshmi took home three Critics' Choice Awards for Top Chef in 2020.
• She was given the Advocate of the Year Award by the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) in December 2021.
• For Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition, Lakshmi won her first James Beard Foundation Award in June 2022.

Is Padma Lakshmi married?

Reflecting on her personal life, She was dating her boyfriend Salman Rushdie before the couple chose to take their relationship to another level and got married in the year 2004. The couple was going strong until the point that some serious issues began in their relationship. The couple experienced the procedure of separation in the year 2007 soon after three years of marriage.

After that, she has been involved with financial speculator Adam Dell. The couple has one child and she is her little girl whose name is Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell. After testing DNA, it is proved that her daughter’s father is Adam Dell. She was additionally in a relationship with Teddy Forstmann, the Ex administrator and previous CEO of IMG. In 2014, she has been in a relationship with an American actor character, Richard Gere. Later their relationship breaks up. At the current time, she is single and lives happily with her daughter.

Richard Gere Biography

How much is Padma Lakshmi worth?

Her net worth is $40 million at present, which proves her success in the industry. She has earned a huge amount of salary from her career. She earned $50 thousand per episode from her work.

Padma Lakshmi Measurements?

Talking about her body measurements, she has been standing with a perfect height of 5 feet 9 inches and weighs around 119 lbs. She has a seductive body size of 38-27-40 inches and her bra size is 36B. She has an hourglass body shape with black hair color and brown eye color.