Emmy nominated Padma Lakshmi is known internationally as an actress, food expert, model and award-winning author. Lakshmi serves as host of Bravo’s Emmy award winning Top Chef.

In 2009, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America alongside World Renowned Advanced Gynecological Surgeon Tamer Seckin, MD. After suffering from the disease for decades herself, she has been able to make amazing strides with the Foundation such as launching the first interdisciplinary research facility in the country for Gynopathology as a joint project between Harvard Medical School and MIT, where she gave the keynote address at the Center’s opening in December 2009. Lakshmi has recently been recognized on the floor of the NY State Senate where she succeeded in passing a bill relating to teen health initiatives.

Lakshmi established herself as a food expert early on in her career, having hosted two successful cooking shows and writing a best-selling cookbook Easy Exotic, for which she won the International Versailles Event for “best cookbook by a first time writer.” Lakshmi followed this success with the publication of her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet, released by Weinstein Books, which has over 150 recipes from around the world alongside intriguing personal memoirs.

In addition to these current projects, Lakshmi is a savvy businesswoman with multiple companies of her own. Her debut home décor line, The Padma Collection, hit floors last Fall in Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide with tabletop dishware, stemware and hand-blown glass décor pieces. She has also created Padma’s Easy Exotic, a collection of culinary products including frozen organic foods, fine teas, natural spice blends, as well as hard goods.

For The Food Network, Lakshmi hosted Padma’s Passport where she cooked diverse cuisine from around the world. Lakshmi has also hosted Planet Food, a documentary series broadcast on The Food Network and worldwide on the Discovery Channel where she journeyed to countries such as Spain and India. Lakshmi is Emmy nominated for her role as host and judge on Bravo’s Top Chef which has recently been awarded an Emmy for “Outstanding Reality Competition Show.”

Other television credits include co-hosting Rai Television's Domenica In, Italy’s highest rated program.

Lakshmi is also an accomplished writer. In addition to her food writing, she has contributed to such magazines as American Vogue, Gourmet and British and American Harper's Bazaar as well as had a syndicated column on fashion and food for The New York Times. Her debut memoir Love, Loss and What We Ate was released on International Women's Day, March 8, 2016.

Originally known as the first internationally successful Indian supermodel and often noted as a global style icon, Lakshmi has been featured as People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People and 25 Most Intriguing People, AOL’s Top 20 Style Influencers, Gotham Magazine’s Best Dressed New Yorkers, and part of The Elle 25.

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