Padma Lakshmi has quite the impressive cooking show career. She is the current host and one of the judges on the TV show Top Chef and has started a new show called Taste the Nation, a series on Hulu, but do you know much about Lakshmi outside of her career? Do you know anything about her personal life, like whether or not she has a husband or kids? The Top Chef host is more than just a staple of the Bravo network.
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Who is Padma Lakshmi?
Lakshmi is the Indian American host and executive producer of Bravo's series Top Chef, which has been nominated in Hollywood for 32 Emmys and saw a new season premiere this spring in spite of the pandemic.
She was born in India but immigrated to the United States as a child, living briefly in Manhattan in New York City before moving to Los Angeles, California. She went on to attend Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and to start a modeling career before she ever got into the food television field.
She eventually went on to become the Top Chef host we all love, but she's also been a host of Domenica In, an Italian TV show, and once hosted the Food Network series Padma's Passport. She also hosts her own show, Taste the Nation, on Hulu. Lakshmi reportedly speaks five languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Tamil, and Hindi. Pretty impressive!
Padma Lakshmi Husband: Is She Married?
Lakshmi is not currently married, but she has been in the past. After living together for three years, Lakshmi married novelist Salman Rushdie in 2004. Although Lakshmi and author Salman Rushdie seemed happily in love for a bit, they filed for divorce just three years later.
After that, Lakshmi met her partner and American venture capitalist Adam Dell. Fun fact: he's the brother of Michael Dell, who founded Dell Inc. They share their daughter Krishna together. Sadly, they broke up for a bit and had a bitter custody battle, but their co-parenting struggles seem to have rekindled their relationship!
Lakshmi also briefly dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann. When he lost a battle with brain cancer, he left a decent portion of his earnings to Lakshmi.
In 2018 during an interview with Wendy Williams, Lakshmi shared, "I don't feel I need to be married. I think my life is great. ... I don't need a certificate to prove anything."
Is She an Author?
Yes! In addition to her television hosting gigs and her job as mom, Lakshmi has also written a few books. She wrote the best-selling Easy Exotic as well as a cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet, and memoir Love, Loss and What We Ate. Updates on her novels can be found on her social media channels.
Lakshmi has done a lot in her life, including advocacy for people with endometriosis. Between that, her published books, and raising Krishna, we're sure she'll have plenty to keep her busy for years to come.
