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Giada De Laurentiis | |
|---|---|
 De Laurentiis in 2010 | |
| Born | Giada Pamela De Benedetti (1970-08-22)August 22, 1970 (age 55) Rome, Italy |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles Le Cordon Bleu |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Shane Farley (2015–present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | Italian |
Television shows
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Awards won
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| Website | Official website |
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis[a] (bornGiada Pamela De Benedetti, August 22, 1970) is an Italian-born American chef, entrepreneur, writer, and television personality. She was the host ofFood Network's program calledGiada at Home. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host onNBC's program entitledToday. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods.[4] She is a winner of theDaytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and theGracie Award for Best Television Host. She was also recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the Global 100 in Hospitality, a list featuring the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality.[5][6]
De Laurentiis was born on August 22, 1970, inRome, Italy. The eldest child of actressVeronica De Laurentiis and her first husband, actor-producer Alex De Benedetti.[7] Alex De Benedetti was a close associate of Giada's maternal grandfather, film producerDino De Laurentiis. As a child, Giada often found herself in the family's kitchen and spent a great deal of time at her grandfather's restaurant, DDL Foodshow.[4][7] Her parents were married in February 1970 but were later divorced. After her parents' divorce, Giada and her siblings moved to Southern California, where they took their mother's surname.[8] After graduating fromMarymount High School in Los Angeles, De Laurentiis attended theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, earning her bachelor's degree insocial anthropology in 1996.[4][7]
Her maternal great-grandmother was English and her grandmother was the Italian film starSilvana Mangano.[7] Her paternal grandmother, Pamela De Benedetti (née Leslie-Jones; 1923–1998), was also English. Her siblings include sister Eloisa, amake-up artist, and brothers Igor and Dino Alexander II, a Hollywood film editor who died ofmelanoma in 2003.[9] Her stepfather is producer Ivan Kavalsky.
De Laurentiis studied atLe Cordon Bleu in Paris,[4][7] with aspirations of becoming apastry chef. After returning to the United States, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles restaurants, notably theWolfgang Puck-ownedSpago. She later worked as a food stylist and was contacted by theFood Network after styling a piece inFood & Wine magazine in 2002.
Her daytime cooking show on the Food Network,Everyday Italian, premiered April 5, 2003.[4] OnChefography, a Food Network biography program, she said she never wanted to be in her "family business" of show business, and that she felt uncomfortable in front of the camera when she first began hostingEveryday Italian. 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.[10]
De Laurentiis began hostingBehind the Bash in October 2005.[11] The program examines the catering process behind big event extravaganzas such as theGrammy Awards. 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 (includingSeattle,South Beach,San Francisco,Napa, andJackson Hole, Wyoming) and visits her favorite local culinary destinations. On a November 2006 episode ofIron Chef America, De Laurentiis andBobby Flay competed against, and were defeated by,Rachael Ray andMario Batali.
In 2007, De Laurentiis appeared as a presenter at the inauguralFood Network Awards. In June 2007, she hosted a two-part Food Network special entitledGiada in Paradise, featuring the two locales ofSantorini,Greece andCapri, Italy. De Laurentiis also made several appearances as a guest judge on the third season ofThe Next Food Network Star, which aired in 2007. That year she was dubbed a "petite powerhouse" byTown & Country magazine, standing "just under five-foot two".[12] In 2008, she won aDaytime Emmy Award forOutstanding Lifestyle Host.
In 2008, De Laurentiis and theBarilla Group launched an Italian gourmet line under the Academia Barilla name—Barilla's first-ever gourmet celebrity product line.[13] That same year,Giada at Home premiered, showing De Laurentiis in a kitchen preparing meals and parties for family and friends. The show is shot on a set that is very similar to her own home.[14] She joined fellow chef Bobby Flay as a judge in season 7 of Food Network Star and took on a new role in season 8 as a team leader of five cooks competing against Bobby Flay's and Alton Brown's respective teams.[4]
In 2009, De Laurentiis became the voice of "Paulette", a character on the animated children's showHandy Manny. In early 2010, De Laurentiis came out with a line of kitchen supplies, exclusively forTarget. That same year,CafeMom ranked her as #6 on their yearly "Sexiest Moms Alive" list.[15] In June 2010, De Laurentiis became a regularly appearing mentor to the finalists on the popular Food Network competition showThe Next Food Network Star.
In July 2014, De Laurentiis opened her first restaurant, called GIADA, insideThe Cromwell inLas Vegas,Nevada. The restaurant offers seating in the dining room, lounge, or outdoor patio with views of theBellagio fountains andCaesars Palace. The GIADA menu includes Italian cuisine with Californian influences, including "lemon spaghetti, chicken cacciatore, marsala herb chicken meatballs, rosemary focaccia and lemon flatbread and vegetable Bolognese rigatoni".[16] Family-style, vegan, and gluten-free options are also available, as well as an antipasto station. Restaurant guests can watch chefs prepare food from the open kitchen.[16]
In 2014, De Laurentiis voiced the character of Gelata in the U.S. version of the Tinker Bell specialPixie Hollow Bake Off.
In 2017, she launched a new product, an e-commerce platform called Giadzy.com, which aims to showcase new recipes, provide travel and cooking tips, as well as sell high-quality products (mainly related to Italian/Italian-American cuisine).[17]
In 2018, De Laurentiis voiced herself in the movieScooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost.
On June 26, 2020, De Laurentiis' Food Network seriesGiada Entertains won a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Culinary Series.[18] On July 26, 2020, De Laurentiis won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Host.[19]
On February 10, 2023, De Laurentiis signed a multi-year deal to create and produce unscripted programming withAmazon Studios.[20] Later in February, De Laurentiis was named as the godmother for theOceania Cruises' ship Vista, the first new ship from the cruise line in more than a decade.[21]
De Laurentiis had a range of products made exclusively forTarget. In 2013, ceramic lasagna pans under the Giada De Laurentiis brand were recalled after they cracked and at least six people were injured.[22]
In 2022, Target only seems to carry her books, including a Target edition ofEat Better, Feel Better.[23]
De Laurentiis has two restaurants on theLas Vegas Strip. She opened her first restaurant in May 2014. The restaurant, simply called "Giada", is located in theCromwell.[24] She opened a second restaurant in early 2018.[25] "Pronto by Giada", taking up residency inCaesars Palace, is a fast casual dining restaurant.
In July 2017, she announced she would also be opening a restaurant in theHorseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. It is called GDL Italian by Giada, and opened in May 2018.[26]
On May 25, 2003, De Laurentiis married Todd Thompson, a fashion designer. The couple's only child, a daughter, was born in 2008.[27][28] While acknowledging how special the experience of having a child has been, she has stated that she does not plan to have more children. De Laurentiis remains focused on her career, saying, "I have so many babies: the show, Todd, and Jade".[14] On December 29, 2014, De Laurentiis announced on her website that she and Todd had separated the previous July, and had decided to end their marriage.[29] The divorce was finalized on September 3, 2015.[30]
Since November 2015, she has been romantically involved with TV producer Shane Farley.[31][32]
BothGiada at Home andWeeknights with Giada landed in the number one position onThe New York Times Best Seller list.[33][34]
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lifestyle Host | Everyday Italian | Won |
| 2010 | Outstanding Lifestyle Host | Giada at Home | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Outstanding Lifestyle Host | Giada at Home | Nominated | |
| Gracie Awards | Outstanding Host[35] | Giada at Home | Won | |
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Culinary Host | Giada Entertains | Won |
