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Padma Lakshmi Richard Gere’s New Pretty Woman?
Is Padma Laksmi the new pretty woman in Richard Gere’s life? The 43-year-old television host, cook book author, chef, model and actress, according to news reports, is spending a good deal of time with Gere, who is currently in New York shooting for his new film “Time Out of Mind.”
The New York Post’s Page Six reported that the 64-year-old actor and the “Top Chef” host are dating. But the romance is still “very new and recent,” a source told the paper. And although the Gere has been “quietly spending some time” with Lakshmi while he’s filming in New York, he’s still in the midst of some divorce drama, the Post said.
In “Time Out of Mind,” Gere plays a homeless man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Maggie (Jena Malone). The usually dapper Gere was photographed in character as the homeless man looking scruffy and relieving himself on a street in New York during filming for a scene in the movie, which Gere is also producing.
In September 2013, Gere and actress Carey Lowell announced they were separating after 11 years of marriage. The couple have a 14-year-old son, Homer. Previously, Gere was married to Cindy Crawford.
Lakshmi lives in New York with Krishna, 3, her daughter with ex Adam Dell, the venture capitalist brother of computer legend Michael Dell. She was married to writer Salman Rushdie for three years before divorcing in 2007, and dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until his death at age 71 in 2011.
Juggling Multiple Roles
Despite being a single mother juggling hosting duties, designing for her jewelry and bake ware and food line, writing cookbooks and lending her celebrity status to various public appearances, Lakshmi has never let her love life suffer. She has in fact made many a heads turn with her bold and sexy demeanor – be it on air or off.
Last November, the Daily Mail published photos of Laksmi with an unidentified “mystery man.” Lakshmi looked stylish in a monochrome mini skirt, black suede knee high boots and a smart black mac, while her companion looked coordinated in a black pea coat, grey jeans and black boots and added a flash of color with a royal blue silk scarf, the report said.
She was also rumored to be dating hotel tycoon Vikram Chatwal, and the duo was spotted together in December 2012. Lakshmi and Chatwal, 41, who are said to be longtime friends, were first seen in court-side seats together at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks/Nets game in December, The New York Post reported.
Marriage to Rushdie
In 1999, Lakshmi met author Salman Rushdie at a party in New York hosted by journalist Tina Brown. The two married five years later. The couple raised eyebrows, both for the discrepancy in their looks and their ages, as Lakshmi was nearly 20 years her husband’s junior. Rushdie based a character in his 2001 novel Fury on Lakshmi, to whom the book is dedicated. Lakshmi countered critics who questioned their relationship. “I was a published author and an actress before I met my husband,” she said. “I can’t help who I fell in love with.” The two stayed together for eight years before divorcing in 2007.
In his book “Joseph Anton: A Memoir,” Rushdie provides some juicy tidbits about Lakshmi. The book tracks Rushdie’s fatwa years after he published “The Satanic Verses” in 1989. The memoir tracks Rushdie leaving his wife for “an American of Indian origin who had grand ambitions and secret plans that had nothing to do with the fulfillment of his deepest needs.”
The book goes into detail about their tumultuous relationship – he cites her “frequent moodiness” that was “unpredictable and extreme,” her “capacity for brattish ‘model behavior,’” and her “majestic narcissism.” He also talks about her ending up on the cover of the French Playboy back in 2000 and how she had to hire a French lawyer because “she wanted to be paid for it.” Rushdie, who reveals Padma’s original name as Padmalakshmi Vaidyanathan, also wrote that “selfishness is her most prominent characteristic.”
Culinary Journey
After her divorce with Rushdie, Lakshmi published a new cookbook “Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet,” and began hosting “Top Chef.” She has her own line of Indian-inspired jewelry, as well as a line of spices, teas and bake ware. She 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.
Lakshmi is also a savvy businesswoman with two companies of her own – the jewelry collection, PL by Padma Lakshmi is available at HSN, while Easy Exotic is a collection of culinary products including fine teas and teapots; high-quality natural spice blends, roasting rubs and sea salts; as well as hard goods.
Previously Lakshmi hosted “Padma’s Passport” on The Food Network where she cooked diverse cuisine from around the world. She also hosted “Planet Food,” a documentary series broadcast on The Food Network and worldwide on the Discovery Channel. 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.
Early Years
Lakshmi was born on Sept.1, 1970, in Chennai, India. Her parents divorced when she was two and her mother moved to the U.S. to escape the stigma of divorce in India. Lakshmi lived with her maternal grandparents in Chennai for two years before joining her mother in the U.S. Both of her parents later remarried, and she has a younger half-brother and half-sister on her father’s side.
Lakshmi grew up first in New York and then in Los Angeles with her mother and stepfather. When she was 14 years old, a car crash changed her life. She broke Lakshmi’s pelvis and shattered her upper right arm. Her injuries required surgery that left a seven-inch scar along her arm. Self-conscious at first, Lakshmi came to embrace her scar after she began modeling, when the mark distinguished her. “The scar became my brand statement,” she has said in several interviews.
Modeling and Acting Career
Lakshmi attended Clark University in Massachusetts, starting as a psychology major before graduating in 1992 with a bachelor’s in theater. While studying in Spain, Lakshmi was spotted by a modeling scout in a Madrid bar. She soon began traveling the world as a model for designers like Armani, Versace and Ralph Lauren. Modeling led to offers of acting jobs, and Lakshmi began appearing in television shows filmed in Hollywood, Bollywood and Europe. Her roles included a bit part in the 2001 film “Glitter,” starring singer Mariah Carey, and a part in the Italian miniseries “Caraibi,” that required her to gain more than 30 pounds. After losing the weight, she published a cookbook entitled “Easy Exotic,” a collection of low-calorie recipes incorporating the flavors of Southeast Asia. The book’s success led to her own show on the Food Network, “Padma’s Passport”, and a similar job hosting the British show “Planet Food.”
On screen Lakshmi was last seen with Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges’ film “Mistress of Spices.” She then played Princess Bithia in ABC’s mini-series “The Ten Commandments” alongside Naveen Andrews (Lost), Omar Sharif and Dougray Scott. Lakshmi also recently starred in BBC America’s “Sharpe’s Challenge” opposite Sean Bean.
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.
Battle with Endometriosis
In 2009, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America alongside Advanced Gynecological Surgeon Dr. Tamer Seckin. 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, according to the foundation website.
“This disease dominated much of my life for many years before I was finally able to receive an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment,” she says on crowdrise.com, an online fundraising site for charity. “Five years ago, I helped found the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) to help prevent millions of women from years of suffering from this debilitating disease,” she added.
Endometriosis is a disease where the endometrial tissue that lines a woman’s uterus is found outside the uterus – often within the pelvic cavity. In addition to being one of the leading causes of infertility in women, endometriosis causes severe pain and when left untreated can lead to other complications
Is Padma Lakshmi Richard Gere?s New Pretty Woman? |
Is Padma Laksmi the new pretty woman in Richard Gere’s life? The 43-year-old television host, cook book author, chef, model and actress, according to news reports, is spending a good deal of time with Gere, who is currently in New York shooting for his new film “Time Out of Mind.”
The New York Post’s Page Six reported that the 64-year-old actor and the “Top Chef” host are dating. But the romance is still “very new and recent,” a source told the paper. And although the Gere has been “quietly spending some time” with Lakshmi while he’s filming in New York, he’s still in the midst of some divorce drama, the Post said.
In “Time Out of Mind,” Gere plays a homeless man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Maggie (Jena Malone). The usually dapper Gere was photographed in character as the homeless man looking scruffy and relieving himself on a street in New York during filming for a scene in the movie, which Gere is also producing.
In September 2013, Gere and actress Carey Lowell announced they were separating after 11 years of marriage. The couple have a 14-year-old son, Homer. Previously, Gere was married to Cindy Crawford.
Lakshmi lives in New York with Krishna, 3, her daughter with ex Adam Dell, the venture capitalist brother of computer legend Michael Dell. She was married to writer Salman Rushdie for three years before divorcing in 2007, and dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until his death at age 71 in 2011.
Juggling Multiple Roles
Despite being a single mother juggling hosting duties, designing for her jewelry and bake ware and food line, writing cookbooks and lending her celebrity status to various public appearances, Lakshmi has never let her love life suffer. She has in fact made many a heads turn with her bold and sexy demeanor – be it on air or off.
Last November, the Daily Mail published photos of Laksmi with an unidentified “mystery man.” Lakshmi looked stylish in a monochrome mini skirt, black suede knee high boots and a smart black mac, while her companion looked coordinated in a black pea coat, grey jeans and black boots and added a flash of color with a royal blue silk scarf, the report said.
She was also rumored to be dating hotel tycoon Vikram Chatwal, and the duo was spotted together in December 2012. Lakshmi and Chatwal, 41, who are said to be longtime friends, were first seen in court-side seats together at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks/Nets game in December, The New York Post reported.
Marriage to Rushdie
In 1999, Lakshmi met author Salman Rushdie at a party in New York hosted by journalist Tina Brown. The two married five years later. The couple raised eyebrows, both for the discrepancy in their looks and their ages, as Lakshmi was nearly 20 years her husband’s junior. Rushdie based a character in his 2001 novel Fury on Lakshmi, to whom the book is dedicated. Lakshmi countered critics who questioned their relationship. “I was a published author and an actress before I met my husband,” she said. “I can’t help who I fell in love with.” The two stayed together for eight years before divorcing in 2007.
In his book “Joseph Anton: A Memoir,” Rushdie provides some juicy tidbits about Lakshmi. The book tracks Rushdie’s fatwa years after he published “The Satanic Verses” in 1989. The memoir tracks Rushdie leaving his wife for “an American of Indian origin who had grand ambitions and secret plans that had nothing to do with the fulfillment of his deepest needs.”
The book goes into detail about their tumultuous relationship – he cites her “frequent moodiness” that was “unpredictable and extreme,” her “capacity for brattish ‘model behavior,’” and her “majestic narcissism.” He also talks about her ending up on the cover of the French Playboy back in 2000 and how she had to hire a French lawyer because “she wanted to be paid for it.” Rushdie, who reveals Padma’s original name as Padmalakshmi Vaidyanathan, also wrote that “selfishness is her most prominent characteristic.”
Culinary Journey
After her divorce with Rushdie, Lakshmi published a new cookbook “Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet,” and began hosting “Top Chef.” She has her own line of Indian-inspired jewelry, as well as a line of spices, teas and bake ware. She 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.
Lakshmi is also a savvy businesswoman with two companies of her own – the jewelry collection, PL by Padma Lakshmi is available at HSN, while Easy Exotic is a collection of culinary products including fine teas and teapots; high-quality natural spice blends, roasting rubs and sea salts; as well as hard goods.
Previously Lakshmi hosted “Padma’s Passport” on The Food Network where she cooked diverse cuisine from around the world. She also hosted “Planet Food,” a documentary series broadcast on The Food Network and worldwide on the Discovery Channel. 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.
Early Years
Lakshmi was born on Sept.1, 1970, in Chennai, India. Her parents divorced when she was two and her mother moved to the U.S. to escape the stigma of divorce in India. Lakshmi lived with her maternal grandparents in Chennai for two years before joining her mother in the U.S. Both of her parents later remarried, and she has a younger half-brother and half-sister on her father’s side.
Lakshmi grew up first in New York and then in Los Angeles with her mother and stepfather. When she was 14 years old, a car crash changed her life. She broke Lakshmi’s pelvis and shattered her upper right arm. Her injuries required surgery that left a seven-inch scar along her arm. Self-conscious at first, Lakshmi came to embrace her scar after she began modeling, when the mark distinguished her. “The scar became my brand statement,” she has said in several interviews.
Modeling and Acting Career
Lakshmi attended Clark University in Massachusetts, starting as a psychology major before graduating in 1992 with a bachelor’s in theater. While studying in Spain, Lakshmi was spotted by a modeling scout in a Madrid bar. She soon began traveling the world as a model for designers like Armani, Versace and Ralph Lauren. Modeling led to offers of acting jobs, and Lakshmi began appearing in television shows filmed in Hollywood, Bollywood and Europe. Her roles included a bit part in the 2001 film “Glitter,” starring singer Mariah Carey, and a part in the Italian miniseries “Caraibi,” that required her to gain more than 30 pounds. After losing the weight, she published a cookbook entitled “Easy Exotic,” a collection of low-calorie recipes incorporating the flavors of Southeast Asia. The book’s success led to her own show on the Food Network, “Padma’s Passport”, and a similar job hosting the British show “Planet Food.”
On screen Lakshmi was last seen with Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges’ film “Mistress of Spices.” She then played Princess Bithia in ABC’s mini-series “The Ten Commandments” alongside Naveen Andrews (Lost), Omar Sharif and Dougray Scott. Lakshmi also recently starred in BBC America’s “Sharpe’s Challenge” opposite Sean Bean.
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.
Battle with Endometriosis
In 2009, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America alongside Advanced Gynecological Surgeon Dr. Tamer Seckin. 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, according to the foundation website.
“This disease dominated much of my life for many years before I was finally able to receive an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment,” she says on crowdrise.com, an online fundraising site for charity. “Five years ago, I helped found the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) to help prevent millions of women from years of suffering from this debilitating disease,” she added.
Endometriosis is a disease where the endometrial tissue that lines a woman’s uterus is found outside the uterus – often within the pelvic cavity. In addition to being one of the leading causes of infertility in women, endometriosis causes severe pain and when left untreated can lead to other complications
Is Padma Lakshmi Richard Gere?s New Pretty Woman? |
