Padma Lakshmi has portrayed various roles in life. She is a cookbook author, model, television host and actress. Her net worth is estimated to be around $30 million. Most of the money she has made came from the television show “Top Chef”. Padma Lakshmi reportedly made $50,000 for each episode of the said program. She is the former wife of the author Salman Rushdie, who has courted controversies often because of his work. The two married in 2004 but divorced later in 2007.

Padma Lakshmi is an Indian-American actress born in India. Her father was an executive at Pfizer while her mother was a nurse who used to work to prevent suicides. Lakshmi started off as a model when she was 18 years old. She was discovered by a modeling agent in Spain while she was sitting in a café. Lakshmi has stated that she is the first model from India to have a career in Milan, NYC, and Paris. She has since then modeled for Ralph Lauren, Emanuel Ungaro, and Alberta Ferretti. She is also the favorite of photographer Helmut Newton. Lakshmi controversially posed nude for the Allure magazine in its May 2009 issue.

But of course, she is best known for the Top Chef program that has won several awards. It was a recipient of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in 2010. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality-Competition Program. She has also made a name for her debut cookbook “Easy Exotic” that has won the award for the “Best First Book” at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 1999.

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