Padma Lakshmi (pronounced [ˈpəd̪maː ˈləkʃmiː]; born Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan; September 1, 1970) is an Indian-born American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer. Her debut cookbook Easy Exotic 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. In 2010, Top Chef won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. Her debut memoir Love, Loss and What We Ate was released on International Women's Day, March 8, 2016.
Born Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan
September 1, 1970 (age 47)
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
Citizenship American
Occupation Model, author, actress, TV host
Years active 1988–present
Children 1
Modeling information Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)Hair color Black
Eye color Brown
Early life
Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan was born in Madras (now Chennai), India.Her father was a executive with the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer. Her mother, Vijaya, is a retired nurse who specialized inoncology. Her parents divorced when she was two, and both parents later remarried.Lakshmi is her mother's only child, but she has a younger paternal half-brother and half-sister. Her half-sister formerly worked as an actress and classical dancer but is now pursuing a career working with children with special needs. In an interview in The Guardian, Lakshmi said, "My father had quit his job as an executive at Pfizer to manage her career. That was kind of like rubbing salt in the wound. I didn't understand why he wanted that relationship with her, and not with me."
Lakshmi's mother moved to the United States to escape the stigma of divorce in India.Lakshmi, therefore, grew up shuttling between her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York.Her native tongue isTamil,her parents being Tamil Brahmin Iyers In 1984, when she was 14 years old, Lakshmi was hospitalized for three weeks, and eventually diagnosed with Stevens–Johnson syndrome, which is caused by hypersensitivity to an infection or certain kinds of medications. Two days after her discharge from the hospital, she was in a car accident inMalibu, California, which left her with a fractured right hip and a shattered right upper arm.The injury to her arm required surgery, which left her with a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder.
As a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Lakshmi was bullied and endured racial taunts from classmates, which caused her to struggle to overcome "internalized self-loathing."
Education
Lakshmi graduated from William Workman High School close to Valinda, California. in the City of Industry, California. Class of 1988. She is a 1992 graduate of Clark University, inWorcester, Massachusetts, where she received a BA with Honors, in Theatre Arts.During her time in school, she chose to study abroad in Madrid, which is where her modeling career began.
She speaks English, Tamil, Hindi, Italian and Spanish.
September 1, 1970 (age 47)
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
Citizenship American
Occupation Model, author, actress, TV host
Years active 1988–present
Children 1
Modeling information Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)Hair color Black
Eye color Brown
Early life
Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan was born in Madras (now Chennai), India.Her father was a executive with the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer. Her mother, Vijaya, is a retired nurse who specialized inoncology. Her parents divorced when she was two, and both parents later remarried.Lakshmi is her mother's only child, but she has a younger paternal half-brother and half-sister. Her half-sister formerly worked as an actress and classical dancer but is now pursuing a career working with children with special needs. In an interview in The Guardian, Lakshmi said, "My father had quit his job as an executive at Pfizer to manage her career. That was kind of like rubbing salt in the wound. I didn't understand why he wanted that relationship with her, and not with me."
Lakshmi's mother moved to the United States to escape the stigma of divorce in India.Lakshmi, therefore, grew up shuttling between her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York.Her native tongue isTamil,her parents being Tamil Brahmin Iyers In 1984, when she was 14 years old, Lakshmi was hospitalized for three weeks, and eventually diagnosed with Stevens–Johnson syndrome, which is caused by hypersensitivity to an infection or certain kinds of medications. Two days after her discharge from the hospital, she was in a car accident inMalibu, California, which left her with a fractured right hip and a shattered right upper arm.The injury to her arm required surgery, which left her with a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder.
As a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Lakshmi was bullied and endured racial taunts from classmates, which caused her to struggle to overcome "internalized self-loathing."
Education
Lakshmi graduated from William Workman High School close to Valinda, California. in the City of Industry, California. Class of 1988. She is a 1992 graduate of Clark University, inWorcester, Massachusetts, where she received a BA with Honors, in Theatre Arts.During her time in school, she chose to study abroad in Madrid, which is where her modeling career began.
She speaks English, Tamil, Hindi, Italian and Spanish.
