Padma Lakshmi (1st September,1970) is an Indian-American cookbook author, actress, and former Super Model who has described herself as the first well-known model from India. She has been the host of the reality television program Top Chef since season two and is an ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
Lakshmi's career began at age 20, when she was discovered by a modeling agent in Spain while sitting in a café. As she has stated, “I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan and New York. I’m the first one to admit that I was a novelty.” Despite Lakshmi's comment about her being a pioneer as a model of Indian descent, her career follows in the footsteps of Persis Khambatta, a former Miss India, who modeled for Revlon and had a featured role in the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
She has modeled for top designers such as Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti and done ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus. She was a favorite model of the photographer Helmut Newton, whose photographs of her often highlighted the large scar on her right arm.
She has appeared on the magazine covers of Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Newsweek etc.
She co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff in the 2003 Hindi action box office failure Boom as Shiela Bardez, one of a trio of supermodels accused of stealing diamonds. Lakshmi was last seen on screen as Geeta with Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges' 2005 film The Mistress of Spices. Padma was also seen in Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta's (Water).
Her first cookbook Easy Exotic was awarded Best First Book at the 1999 World Cookbook Awards at Versailles.
She has modeled for top designers such as Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti and done ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus. She was a favorite model of the photographer Helmut Newton, whose photographs of her often highlighted the large scar on her right arm.
She has appeared on the magazine covers of Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Newsweek etc.
She co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff in the 2003 Hindi action box office failure Boom as Shiela Bardez, one of a trio of supermodels accused of stealing diamonds. Lakshmi was last seen on screen as Geeta with Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges' 2005 film The Mistress of Spices. Padma was also seen in Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta's (Water).
Her first cookbook Easy Exotic was awarded Best First Book at the 1999 World Cookbook Awards at Versailles.