Padma Lakshmi ProfileName : Padma Lakshmi
Date of birth : 1970
Place of birth : Madras, India
Spouse : Salman Rushdie
Padma Lakshmi Trivia
* Speaks five languages.
* Has a seven inch scar on her inside arm as a result of a major auto crash that she was in as a child.
* She hosts "Padma's Passport" on the Food Network based on her popular cookbook, "Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-fat Recipes From Around The World".
* Officially announced engagement to author Salman Rushdie on February 14, 2004, the 15th anniversary of the infamous fatwa against Rushdie for writing the novel The Satanic Verses.
* Was discovered by a photographer while spending part of her senior year studying in Spain and he convinced her to begin modeling.
* Measurements: 36C-23-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
* Attended Clark University in Massachusetts, USA.
Padma Lakshmi Detailed Biography
From high-fashion model to host of a cooking show might appear to be an unlikely journey, but not if you're Padma Lakshmi.
Even when traveling around the world as a model, Padma was always on the lookout to add to her culinary repertoire. Born in southern India, she had warm childhood memories of cooking with her female relatives as they carefully grated coconuts, shelled peas, and trimmed fresh mangoes.
As she globe-trotted on photo shoots, she found comfort in preparing recipes from her childhood, and soon she branched into the cuisines of the countries she visited. "My first big editorial shoot was in Morocco...where I learned about fiery harissa and couscous. While shooting French lingerie in Bali, I learned how to make a low-calorie fish dish I tasted there."
Padma spent much of her adolescence in the United States. She attended Clark University in Massachusetts and received a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Although she had wanted to be a model from a young age, her mother was determined that college should come first. "My mother's ideas on the subject were quite clear," Padma notes. "If I was beautiful at seventeen, I would be beautiful at twenty-one when I graduated from college."
While studying in Spain during her last semester of college, she was sent on her first modeling job. Since then, she has been featured in such magazines as Vogue, Elle, and Glamour, and has worked with many international designers. Her career has also taken her into feature films and television in Germany and Italy. Among other places, she has lived in Milan and Los Angeles, and she's currently a resident of New York. In 1999, Padma published a cookbook called Easy Exotic: A Model's Lowfat Recipes from Around the World (Hyperion).
