Padma Parvati Lakshmi born September 1, 1970) also Padma, Lady Rushdie is an Indian American cookbook author, actress, model and television host. 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.
Padma Lakshmi was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in an Iyengar brahmin family.Her father was a Pfizer executive and her mother Vijaya, the first wife of her father, was a nurse who specialized in suicide prevention. Her mother tongue is Tamil. She grew up shuttling between her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York.She is her parents' only child from this marriage.
Both parents later remarried,and Lakshmi has a younger paternal half-brother and half-sister. The latter formerly worked as an actress and classical dancer but is now pursuing a career 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."
In 1984, when she was 14 years old, Padma was in a car accident in Malibu, causing an injury to her right arm that required surgery, which left a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder. The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon as Padma was being driven home from a Hindu temple in Malibu. She remembers a flash of orange, looking over to see the large car upon her. Padma describes the event in the April 2001 edition of Vogue, saying, "Being in a car crash was like an exhilarating hallucination, an unbelievable moment that oddly remains one of the most beautiful images in my memory." The car left Padma with injuries that included a fractured right hip and a shattered upper right arm.
Lakshmi went to Workman High School in the City of Industry, California. Lakshmi is a 1992 graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, where she received a B.A. with honors in Theatre Arts.
She speaks English, Tamil, Hindi, Italian and Spanish.
Padma Lakshmi
On April 17, 2004, in New York City, Lakshmi married the novelist Salman Rushdie, to whom she was introduced at a party in 1999 hosted by the journalist and editor Tina Brown.On July 2, 2007, the couple filed for divorce.She is the model for one of the central characters — and love interests — in Rushdie's novel Fury (a novel dedicated to her as well).
On October 1, 2009, after years of struggling with a gynaecological medical illness known as endometriosis, a condition that causes pelvic pain and has been associated with infertility, Lakshmi confirmed that she was pregnant. Lakshmi also co-founded The Endometriosis Foundation of America, which is a nonprofit organization focused on increasing awareness, education, research, and legislative advocacy against the diseaseOn February 20, 2010, Lakshmi gave birth to a baby girl named Krishna Thea Lakshmi. Although the father's identity was not initially given, it was later revealed to be Adam Dell. In January 2011, Dell sued Lakshmi for full custody of their daughter.
Although professing little interest in fashion, Lakshmi has written articles on style for American Vogue magazine at Anna Wintour's request, and writes her own column on style in Harper's Bazaar following a commission from editor Glenda Bailey.
Lakshmi was brought up as a vegetarian and has admitted that because of this, she sometimes becomes "squeamish" when sampling other cultural delicacies. In 2009, she starred in a television advertisement for the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain eating a Western Bacon Cheeseburger and in her second cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet she credits the chain with bringing her away from vegetarianism during her teenage years.
Wikipedia
Carolyn Murphy was born in Panama City, Florida and grew up mainly in Northwest Florida, with brief periods in England and Maryland, as a result of her parents’ divorce. Her career began when at the age of 16, her mother enrolled her in a modeling school. Soon, she was modeling locally in Florida, as well as abroad in Japan and Paris. After graduating from Choctawhatchee High School in 1991, Murphy went to New York.
Murphy enrolled at the University of Virginia, while modeling part-time. Mario Testino shot her for French Vogue, Missoni, Et Vous, and Gucci. In 1994 she was hired for Prada and appeared in major magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. Anna Wintour had Steven Meisel shoot her for American Vogue in 1995 and he began to use her for campaigns like Dolce Gabbana, Max Mara, and Calvin Klein.
In 1998, she was named VH1/Vogue's "Model of the Year". Barry Levinson chose her for the role of "Dubbie" in his film Liberty Heights. She was presented on the November 1999 Millennium cover of American Vogue as one of the "Modern Muses"." and considered a muse by Calvin Klein, landing a contract for the perfume "Contradiction" with fellow Liberty Heights costar, Justin Chambers. She was offered roles in "Pearl Harbor" and many others to follow. Also in 1998, during a photo shoot for Elle magazine, the photographer noticed her resemblance to the actress Gene Tierney and Elle dubbed Murphy "The blonde Gene Tierney"
In 2001, Estee Lauder signed Murphy to an exclusive contract. Her first advertising campaign for the brand’s “Defining Beauty” began appearing in 2002. She continues to appear in the advertisements today, recently posing for Estee Lauder’s new fragrance, Sensuous. She shot campaigns for Missoni, Versace and Tiffany & Co. In 2005 she was featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
