Padma Lakshmi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Padma Lakshmi
Lakshmi in 2017
Born	Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan (1970-09-01) September 1, 1970 (age 54) Madras, India
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	TV host model author businesswoman activist producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Salman Rushdie ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2007)​
Children	1
Modeling information
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown

Padma Parvati Lakshmi (born September 1, 1970) is an American television host, model, and author. She is also a businesswoman and an activist. She became well-known for hosting the cooking show Top Chef on Bravo. She hosted this show from 2006 to 2023.

Padma Lakshmi also created and hosts Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi. This show started in 2020 on Hulu. For her work on these shows, she has received many awards. She has been nominated for 16 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Born in India, Lakshmi moved to the United States when she was a child. She started her career as a model. She has written five books. These include cookbooks, a guide to spices, a memoir, and a children's book. Two of her books became best-sellers. Lakshmi has also started several successful businesses. In 2009, she helped start the Endometriosis Foundation of America. In 2019, she became a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

Early Life and School

Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan was born on September 1, 1970. Her birthplace was Madras, India, which is now called Chennai. Her mother, Vijaya Lakshmi, was a nurse. Padma's parents separated in 1971 and divorced the next year. Her mother then moved to the United States.

Padma lived with her grandparents for two years. Then she joined her mother in the U.S. They lived in Queens, New York City. Later, they moved to La Puente, California, with her stepfather. Padma has shared that she was bullied as a teenager. This was because of her Indian background. She worked hard to overcome these feelings.

When she was 14, Padma became very sick. She was in the hospital for three weeks. Doctors diagnosed her with Stevens–Johnson syndrome. This is a rare illness. Soon after leaving the hospital, she was in a car accident in Malibu. She broke her right hip and badly hurt her right arm. The arm injury needed surgery. She has a seven-inch scar on her arm from this.

Padma graduated from William Workman High School in 1988. In 1992, she earned a degree from Clark University. She studied Theatre Arts and American Literature. When she became a U.S. citizen, she officially changed her name. She chose Padma Parvati Lakshmi to honor her mother.

Padma's Career Journey

Modeling Work

Padma Lakshmi started modeling when she was 21. A modeling agent found her while she was studying in Madrid. She has said she was the first Indian model to work in Paris, Milan, and New York. She used her modeling earnings to pay off her college loans.

Padma Lakshmi in 2008

She modeled for famous designers like Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren. She also appeared in ads for Roberto Cavalli. The photographer Helmut Newton often took pictures of her. He sometimes showed the scar on her right arm. Padma has been on the covers of many magazines. These include Vogue India, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar. In 2023, at age 53, she appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

TV Shows and Hosting

In 1997, Padma Lakshmi hosted an Italian TV show called Domenica In. In 2001, she hosted Padma's Passport on the Food Network. On this show, she cooked recipes from around the world. She also hosted specials for the show Planet Food. These aired on the Food Network and Discovery Channels. From 2015 to 2016, she was a guest on The View.

Padma was a host and judge on Top Chef. She was also an executive producer for the show. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for hosting Top Chef several times. In 2020, she won three Critic's Choice Awards for the show. She left Top Chef after its twentieth season in 2023.

Lakshmi also created and hosts Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi. This show started on Hulu in 2020. It won a Gotham Award and Critic's Choice Awards for Best Culinary Show. In 2021, Hulu released a special called Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition. In 2022, Padma won a James Beard Foundation Award for the holiday special.

Her first movie roles were in Italian pirate films. She was in the American movie Glitter in 2001. In 2002, she played an alien princess in Star Trek: Enterprise. She also appeared in the TV movie Sharpe's Challenge in 2006. In 2009, she was a guest on the NBC show 30 Rock. She also appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 2014.

Books and Writing

Padma Lakshmi with her book Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir, in 2017

Padma Lakshmi's first cookbook was Easy Exotic. It came out in 1999. It won an award for Best First Book. Her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, was released in 2007. Her memoir, Love, Loss, and What We Ate, came out in 2016. It became a The New York Times best-seller.

In 2016, she also released The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs. This book is a guide to flavors from around the world. Her first children's book, Tomatoes for Neela, was released in 2021. It also became a The New York Times best-seller.

Padma has also written for newspapers and magazines. She wrote a column for The New York Times. She also wrote articles about style for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

• Easy Exotic: A Model's Low Fat Recipes From Around the World (1999)
• Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day (2007)
• Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir (2016)
• The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World (2016)
• Tomatoes for Neela (2021)

Business Ventures

Padma Lakshmi created "The Padma Collection" of jewelry. It was sold in stores like Bergdorf Goodman. She also designed a home décor line. This line was sold at Bloomingdale’s stores. She created "Padma’s Easy Exotic," which included foods and spice blends. She also worked with MAC Cosmetics to create a makeup collection. In 2024, she launched a lingerie line with Bare Necessities.

Padma's Personal Life

In April 2004, Padma Lakshmi married novelist Salman Rushdie. They had lived together for five years. They divorced in July 2007. On February 22, 2010, Padma gave birth to her daughter. Her daughter's father is businessman Adam Dell.

Padma Lakshmi speaks five languages. These are Tamil, Hindi, English, Spanish, and Italian. When she was 36, she was diagnosed with endometriosis. This is a health condition she had since she was young.

In 2016, Padma received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2018, she earned the Karma Award from Variety. The Carnegie Corporation of New York honored her in 2022. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people. In 2024, she was a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Helping Others

Padma Lakshmi is a co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. This group works to raise awareness about endometriosis. It also supports education and research for the condition. The foundation helped open the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research in 2009. Padma gave a speech there.

Being an Activist

Padma Lakshmi is known for supporting immigrant rights. She also advocates for independent restaurants and women's rights. She is an ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She speaks out against skin-lightening creams. She has also talked about how people are treated differently based on their skin color.

On March 7, 2019, she became a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. She said her goal is to show that inequality affects people everywhere. She noted that inequality is worse for women and minorities. In December 2021, she received the Advocate of the Year Award from the United Nations. In 2022, she was honored at an ACLU concert. Padma also helped pass a bill about teen health in New York State.

Selected Filmography

Television Shows

Movies

Images for kids

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  Padma Lakshmi unveiling her book Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir, in 2017

See also

In Spanish: Padma Lakshmi para niños