Entertainment
Padma Lakshmi Net Worth: Bio, Career, Family, Relationships, And More
Ahead of the 21st season of the popular cooking program Top Chef, longtime host and producer Padma Lakshmi has declared her retirement from the show’s kitchen.
Lakshmi, who has been a significant contributor to the program for 20 years, informed her followers about the exiting via Twitter and Instagram after seriously considering it.
Top Chef’s success and influence on TV and the culinary industry were significantly shaped by Lakshmi, who served as the show’s host and executive producer.
Since Lakshmi announced her retirement from the well-known show, people have already begun to search for how much the Top Chef’s host and producer are worth in 2023. Here’s everything you need to know.
Padma Lakshmi Net Worth
Padma Lakshmi supposedly has an estimated net worth of more than $40 million as of 2023. She earned the fortune she has now through her career as a TV host, author, actress, and model.
According to what several sources claim, Lakshmi received around $50,000 per episode for hosting Top Chef. The show premiered its 20th season this year and undoubtedly she has made a lot of money over the years.
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Padma Lakshmi: Bio And Career
Padma Lakshmi was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, a state in India. After the separation of her parents, Lakshmi had to move to America with her mother and stepfather during her childhood. Her mother was a nurse whereas her father was a Pfizer executive.
When Lakshmi was 18 years, she began to follow her passion for modeling. She was later spotted by a modeling agent in Spain.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) June 2, 2023
According to Lakshmi, she was the first Indian model to have a successful career in Milan, New York, and Paris.
Since then, she has collaborated with various brands such as Alberta Ferretti, Emanuel Ungaro, and Ralph Lauren.
Padma Lakshmi stirred some controversy by posing naked for Allure magazine’s May 2009 edition.
After appearing in the TV show Top Chef as its host, Lakshmi became a well-known personality in the television industry.
The program has garnered Laksmi several awards and honors, including the nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality-Competition Program at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
She wrote a book titled “Easy Exotic” which was recognized as the Best First Book at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Besides her modeling, Television, and hosting career, Lakshmi had appeared in several Hollywood movies and series, Including Glitter, Star-Trek: Enterprise, The Ten Commandments, etc.
Since a very early age, Padma Lakshmi has been diagnosed with endometriosis, a disease that affects the female reproductive system.
To fight against the disease, she co-founded a non-profit organization, Endometriosis Foundation of America, which focuses on providing awareness, education, treatment, research, and legislative advocacy against the disease that follows her even now.
Padma Lakshmi: Family And Relationships
Born in a Tamil Brahmin family in India, Padma Lakshmi had to move to America when she was four after the separation of her parents.
Her mother Vijaya was a nurse who raised Lakshmi when they were living in the US with her stepfather.
Lakshmi had a romantic relationship with Salman Rushdie, one of the prominent authors. They lived together for five years and got married in 2004.
Unfortunately, the relationship didn’t last long after the marriage. Rushdie and Lakshmi got divorced in 2007.
According to Rushdie, Lakshmi was the one who first asked for the separation, and they had a mutual divorce in July 2007.
After parting ways with Salman Rushdie, Lakshmi dated one of the founding partners of Forstmann Little and Company, Theodore J. Forstmann. Lakshmi broke up with Forstmann a few months after dating.
In 2009, she was rumored to be in a relationship with the brother of Michael Dell, Adam R. Dell.
He is a millionaire and runs several venture capitalist firms. Padma Lakshmi and Adam welcomed their first child on February 22, 2010.
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