Giada De Laurentiis
Encyclopedia
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis (ˈdʒaːda de lauˈrentis; born August 22, 1970) is an Italian American chef
, writer
, television personality, and the host of the current Food Network
program
Giada at Home
. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC
's Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering
business GDL Foods.
and her first husband, actor-producer Alex De Benedetti; De Benedetti was a close associate of Giada's grandfather, film producer Dino De Laurentiis
. Her parents were married in February 1970 but were later divorced. After their parents' divorce, Giada and her siblings moved to Southern California
where they took their mother's surname.
Her maternal grandmother was Italian film star Silvana Mangano
. Her siblings include sister Eloisa, a makeup artist
, and brothers Dino Alexander (a Hollywood film editor who died of melanoma
in 2003) and Igor. Her stepfather is producer Ivan Kavalsky.
De Laurentiis graduated from Marymount High School
in Los Angeles
and holds a bachelor's degree
in social anthropology
from UCLA
(1996).
On May 25, 2003, she married Todd Thompson, a fashion designer for Anthropologie
. The two had been dating since July 1989. The couple's first child, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson, was born on March 29, 2008.
De Laurentiis, dubbed "a petite powerhouse" by Town & Country
magazine, stands "just under five foot two."
in Paris
, France
, with aspirations of becoming a pastry chef
; she is a self-proclaimed chocoholic
. After returning to the United States
, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles
restaurant
s, notably the Wolfgang Puck
-owned Spago. She later worked as a food stylist and was contacted by the Food Network
after styling a piece in Food & Wine Magazine
in 2002.
Her cooking program, Everyday Italian
, has been broadcast on the Food Network since 2003. On her Chefography
(a Food Network biography
program), she admitted that she never wanted to be in her "family business" of show business
. She felt very uncomfortable in front of the camera when she first began hosting Everyday Italian, but has since become more relaxed and open on air. When the program first aired, the Food Network received mail accusing the network of hiring a model or actress pretending to cook instead of a real chef. Since then, she has become well known for her 'trademark' over enunciation of foreign words within English sentences.
De Laurentiis began hosting Behind the Bash
in October 2006. The program examines the catering process behind big event extravaganzas such as the Grammy Award
s. In January 2007, a third De Laurentiis-hosted show, Giada's Weekend Getaways
, debuted on Food Network. On this show, De Laurentiis travels to a featured locale (such as Seattle, South Beach
, San Francisco, Napa
, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming) and visits her favorite local culinary destinations.
On a November 2006 episode of Iron Chef America
, De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay
competed against, and were defeated by, Rachael Ray
and Mario Batali
.
In 2007, De Laurentiis appeared as a presenter on the inaugural Food Network Awards
. In June 2007, she hosted a two-part Food Network special entitled Giada in Paradise
, featuring the two locales of Santorini
, Greece
and Capri
, Italy
. De Laurentiis also made several appearances as a guest judge on the third season of The Next Food Network Star
, which aired in 2007. In 2008, she won a Daytime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Lifestyle Host.
De Laurentiis is a spokesperson for the pasta manufacturer Barilla.
In early 2010, she came out with a line of kitchen supplies, exclusively for Target
.
In 2010, CafeMom
ranked her as #6 in their yearly "Sexiest Moms Alive" list.
She is also the voice of "Paulette", a character on the animated children's show Handy Manny
.
In June, 2010 De Laurentiis became a regularly appearing mentor to the finalists on the popular Food Network competition show The Next Food Network Star
.
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, television personality, and the host of the current Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Giada at Home
Giada at Home
Giada at Home is a television show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. It first aired on October 18, 2008 on the Food Network.The show was nominated for two Daytime Emmys in 2009: for Outstanding Culinary Program and Outstanding Directing in a Lifestyle/Culinary Program, and won for the latter award.The...
. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
business GDL Foods.
Personal life
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis was born in Rome, Italy, the eldest child of actress Veronica De LaurentiisVeronica De Laurentiis
Veronica De Laurentiis is an Italian author and actress. She is the daughter of Silvana Mangano and Dino De Laurentiis. At eighteen, she was cast in the movie Waterloo, starring Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer...
and her first husband, actor-producer Alex De Benedetti; De Benedetti was a close associate of Giada's grandfather, film producer Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
. Her parents were married in February 1970 but were later divorced. After their parents' divorce, Giada and her siblings moved to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
where they took their mother's surname.
Her maternal grandmother was Italian film star Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
. Her siblings include sister Eloisa, a makeup artist
Makeup artist
thumb|[[Michelle Camaclang]], an international-certified professional makeup artistthumb|Special effects makeup techniquesA Make-up artist is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics for theatrical, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions...
, and brothers Dino Alexander (a Hollywood film editor who died of melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
in 2003) and Igor. Her stepfather is producer Ivan Kavalsky.
De Laurentiis graduated from Marymount High School
Marymount High School
Marymount High School is a private, Roman Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Holmby Hills/Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. It sits across from the University of California, Los Angeles campus at 10643 Sunset Boulevard....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and holds a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(1996).
On May 25, 2003, she married Todd Thompson, a fashion designer for Anthropologie
Anthropologie
Anthropologie is a chain of retail stores that sells women's apparel and accessories, home furnishings, imitation found objects and an array of gifts and decorative items.Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company is owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc...
. The two had been dating since July 1989. The couple's first child, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson, was born on March 29, 2008.
De Laurentiis, dubbed "a petite powerhouse" by Town & Country
Town & Country (magazine)
Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.-Early history:...
magazine, stands "just under five foot two."
Career
De Laurentiis studied at Le Cordon BleuLe Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu is the world's largest hospitality education institution, with 35 schools on five continents serving 20,000 students annually. Its primary education focus is on hospitality management and the culinary arts...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, with aspirations of becoming a pastry chef
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
; she is a self-proclaimed chocoholic
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
. After returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, notably the Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
-owned Spago. She later worked as a food stylist and was contacted by the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
after styling a piece in Food & Wine Magazine
Food & Wine Magazine
Food & Wine is a monthly magazine published by American Express Publishing. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content and has been credited by The New York...
in 2002.
Her cooking program, Everyday Italian
Everyday Italian
Everyday Italian is a Food Network show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. In the show, De Laurentiis focuses for her viewers on traditional Italian cuisine with an American flair, such as herb-crusted lamb and chocolate-ricotta pie.-Popularity:...
, has been broadcast on the Food Network since 2003. On her Chefography
Chefography
Chefography is a television series biography of Food Network personalities. While the name implies that the program features biographies of chefs, it in fact includes both chef and non-chef Food Network personalities....
(a Food Network biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
program), she admitted that she never wanted to be in her "family business" of show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
. She felt very uncomfortable in front of the camera when she first began hosting Everyday Italian, but has since become more relaxed and open on air. When the program first aired, the Food Network received mail accusing the network of hiring a model or actress pretending to cook instead of a real chef. Since then, she has become well known for her 'trademark' over enunciation of foreign words within English sentences.
De Laurentiis began hosting Behind the Bash
Behind the Bash
Behind the Bash is a show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis that aired on Food Network. The show focuses on what it takes to create the "over-the-top, high-rolling parties from glitzy Las Vegas to New York City." The show was produced by Atlas Media Corp.- External links :*...
in October 2006. The program examines the catering process behind big event extravaganzas such as the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s. In January 2007, a third De Laurentiis-hosted show, Giada's Weekend Getaways
Giada's Weekend Getaways
Giada's Weekend Getaways is a show on the Food Network that ran from 2007 to 2008. The show follows chef Giada De Laurentiis around the country for "3 day weekend adventures." The show begins Friday afternoon, as Giada arrives at her destination. She may begin with a light dinner, appetizer, and a...
, debuted on Food Network. On this show, De Laurentiis travels to a featured locale (such as Seattle, South Beach
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...
, San Francisco, Napa
Napa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming) and visits her favorite local culinary destinations.
On a November 2006 episode of Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
, De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay
Robert William "Bobby" Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas ; Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak...
competed against, and were defeated by, Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
and Mario Batali
Mario Batali
Mario Batali is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,...
.
In 2007, De Laurentiis appeared as a presenter on the inaugural Food Network Awards
The Food Network Awards
The Food Network Awards are a United States television production awards ceremony, focused on giving awards to chefs, cities, restaurants, and other notable food related institutions....
. In June 2007, she hosted a two-part Food Network special entitled Giada in Paradise
Giada in Paradise
Giada in Paradise is a show that debuted on the Food Network on June 16, 2007. The series features host Giada De Laurentiis exploring food and culture at her favorite vacation destinations. The first episode featured the Greek island of Santorini while the second episode featured the Italian...
, featuring the two locales of Santorini
Santorini
Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. De Laurentiis also made several appearances as a guest judge on the third season of The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star is a reality television series produced by and aired on the Food Network in the United States that awards the winner his or her own series on the Food Network...
, which aired in 2007. In 2008, she won a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Outstanding Lifestyle Host.
De Laurentiis is a spokesperson for the pasta manufacturer Barilla.
In early 2010, she came out with a line of kitchen supplies, exclusively for Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
.
In 2010, CafeMom
CafeMom
CafeMom is an ad-supported social networking site which is specifically targeted at mothers and mothers to be. It was founded in 2006 by Andrew Shue and Michael Sanchez....
ranked her as #6 in their yearly "Sexiest Moms Alive" list.
She is also the voice of "Paulette", a character on the animated children's show Handy Manny
Handy Manny
Handy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
.
In June, 2010 De Laurentiis became a regularly appearing mentor to the finalists on the popular Food Network competition show The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star is a reality television series produced by and aired on the Food Network in the United States that awards the winner his or her own series on the Food Network...
.
Publications
In 2005, De Laurentiis published her first cookbook, Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes, which was followed by Giada's Family Dinners, released April 4, 2006; Everyday Pasta, released April 3, 2007; Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites, released September 30, 2008; and Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California, released March 30, 2010.Products
Giada De Laurentiis has a range of products made only for Target. Her products consist of stainless steel pots and pans, a wide range of utensils and cooking tools and stainless steel counter-top appliances such as a Panini Press, Coffee Maker and Food Processor.External links
- Official site
- Food Network profile
- Escape with Giada De Laurentiis 2007 Life Magazine article
- Giada in Page Six Magazine