Padma Lakshmi is an Indian-born American author, Emmy-nominated producer, television host, food expert, and a New York Times best-selling author. In 2023, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Bio/Wiki
Age-52years
Height-1.75 m
Weight-55 kg
Full Name- Padma Parvati Lakshmi
Born- 1 September 1970
Birthplace-Chennai, India
Spouse-Salman Rushdie (m. 2004–2007)
Children-1
Figure Measurements (approx.)- 34-28-34
Family
Padma Lakshmi was born in Madras, India (now Chennai) to a Tamil Brahmin family. Her mother Vijaya is a retired oncology nurse. Her parents divorced when he was two years old.
Lakshmi immigrated to the United States at the age of four and grew up in New York before moving to La Puente, California with her mother and stepfather. As a teenager in Los Angeles, she said she was bullied and suffered from anti-Indian racism, which made him struggle with “inner self-loathing”.
Husband
In April 2004, Lakshmi married writer Salman Rushdie after five years together. Rushdie said that Lakshmi filed for divorce in January 2007, and the couple filed for divorce later in July of that year. She met billionaire Theodore J. Forstmann.
On February 22, 2010, Lakshmi gave birth to a daughter with businessman Adam Dell, They both started dating in 2009 and split in early 2021.
After her divorce, she dated Adam Dell, brother of Michael Dell, founder of Dell computers on and off starting in 2009, but the two have since parted ways. She was linked to poet Terrance Hayes in 2021 but said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that she was single.
Children
Lakshmi shares 11-year-old daughter Krishna Thea with ex Adam Dell.
Education
Lakshmi graduated from William Workman High School in City of Industry, California, in 1988.
Padma graduated from Clark University with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts and American Literature.
Career
Modelling
In fact, Lakshmi began her modelling career at the age of 21 when Lakshmi was discovered by a modelling agent while she was studying abroad in Madrid. She said, “I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan and New York. I am the first to admit that I am a novelty.” Lakshmi was able to pay for her education. Loans working as models and actors.
Lakshmi has appeared on the covers of Redbook, Vogue India, FHM, Cosmopolitan, Official India, Asian Woman, Elle, Avenue, Industry Magazine, Marie Claire (India edition), Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country and Newsweek.
She also posed nude in the May 2009 issue of Allure magazine.
Film, TV, and hosting
She starred in the Bollywood film Boom (2003) alongside Katrina Kaif and Madhu Sapre as one of three supermodels accused of stealing diamonds. She played the role of Geeta in the 2005 film Mistress of Spices by Paul Mayeda Berges. Lakshmi also guest starred on NBC’s 30 Rock in 2009 and appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 2014.
Lakshmi was also an official contributor to the 19th season of The View in 2015-2016. She competed against music producer Randy Jackson and won for Celebrity Contestant on TBS’s Drop the Mic, which aired on December 26, 2017.She appeared in See Us Coming Together, a special event celebrating the rich diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander communities as part of Sesame Workshop’s ongoing racial justice initiative.
Lakshmi is the current host and one of the judges on the TV show Top Chef.
Achievements
she is a prolific author and author of the best-selling Easy Exotic, which won Best First Book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Lakshmi went on to publish her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, and her memoir, The New York Times bestseller Love, Loss and What We Ate.The show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program from Season 2 through 2019, and Season 6 won the award in 2010.
Awards
- In 2022 Nominee Prime time Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2022 Nominee Prime time Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2021 Nominee Prime time Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2021 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2020 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2019 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2018 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2017 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2016 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2015 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2014 Nominee, Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2009 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
- In 2007 Nominee Prime time Emmy Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (Top Chef)
Childhood Sexual Abuse
In 1984, when Lakshmi was 14, she was hospitalized for three weeks and later diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare condition caused by hypersensitivity to infections or a potentially fatal reaction to certain types of medication.
Two days after being released from the hospital, he was injured in a car accident in Malibu, California, which broke his right hip and fractured his right upper arm. The hand injury required surgery, leaving him with a seven-inch scar between his elbow and shoulder.
In a 2018 essay for The New York Times, Lakshmi revealed that her older boyfriend raped her when she was 16, which she did not report. She said her decision to remain silent about the rape stemmed from being abused by a relative of her stepfather when she was seven years old. When she told her mother and stepfather about the abuse, they sent her to live with her grandparents for a year. He wrote: “The lesson was: if you speak, you will be kicked out.” She said: “I’m speaking out now because I want us all to fight to make sure our daughters never feel this fear and shame and that our sons know that girls’ bodies are not for them to enjoy, and mistreatment has serious consequences.
Filmography
Film
- Girl Most Likely (English)
- The Mistress of Spices (English)
- The Ten Commandments (English)
- Boom (English)
- Glitter (English)
- Unzipped (English)
TV Show
- Top Chef (2006-present)
- 30 Rock (2009)
- Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2014)
- The View (2015-16)
- Drop the Mic (2017)
- Ru Paul’s Drag Race (2018)
- Butter bean’s Café (2019)
- Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (2020-present)
- Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness (2022)
Net Worth 2023
According to Celebrity Net Worth, in 2023 Padma Lakshmi has a net worth of $40 million.
Latest News About Padma Lakshmi
Long-time host and producer Padma Lakshmi has announced that she is leaving the Top Chef kitchen ahead of the cooking show’s 21st season.
Lakshmi broke the news on Twitter and Instagram on Friday, saying she made the decision “after a lot of soul-searching.”
“Coming off a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer, I am extremely proud to have been a part of creating such a successful show and the impact it has had on the world of television and food,” TV star, model, and author. Wrote
“After 17 years, many of the cast and crew are like family to me, and I really miss working with them. I feel it’s time to move on and make room for Taste Nation, my books, and other creative pursuits,” added Lakshmi, relating to the new Hulu show where he goes on culinary journeys across the US. “I am deeply grateful to all of you for so many years of love and support,” said Lakshmi, who joined Top Chef in 2006. It became popular in the United States and other countries, where it has sister competitions.