Chances are you know of Giada De Laurentiis.
But De Laurentiis wasn’t born in the food television spotlight, bursting with ambition to become a celebrity.
So, how has De Laurentiis changed from a young girl in Europe to a Food internet empress?
And in what ways has she stayed true to her deeply rooted traditions?
Read on to witness the stunning transformation of Giada De Laurentiis.
According toBiography, her parents were actress Veronica De Laurentiis and actor-producer Alex De Benedetti.
“I wasn’t looking to get into TV,” she recalled in an interview withFood & Wine.
“My family was in the movie business, so I was never interested in that world.”
Clearly from the start, Giada De Laurentiis was determined to march to the beat of her own drum.
But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced adversity in her life.
No, she’s certainly endured some hardships.
This was especially the case when she first moved to the United States at the age of seven.
Ugh, that sounds horrible.
Fortunately De Laurentiis had a secret weapon, which was preparing and cooking delicious foods.
“It helped me build my ego and even start to get acceptance at school,” she continued.
This is amazing, and that girl with the funny name cooked it.'"
Never underestimate the unifying power of food!
“I was 12, and I would go there after school.”
“It was a gourmet grocery store that also had a kitchen and served food,” she continued.
“I paid for my own college,” she revealed in a chat withEater.
“I paid to go to UCLA, probably why I went to UCLA and not USC.”
Either way, that’s pretty darn impressive, especially for a first-generation student.
“I come from a large Italian family, they only care about boys,” she continued.
“Girls are supposed to get married and have children.”
That’s how she wound up meeting and dating her eventual husband, clothing designer Todd Thompson.
“So I’d show my love for him by making a meal.”
“Luckily, my husband is confident enough that he never took it personally,” she continued.
“He’d laugh it off, and my family ended up adoring him.”
De Laurentiis packed her bags and went to Paris to attend the Cordon Bleu, the world-famous cooking school.
“I’m going to be honest it was brutal,” she dished.
But it was her family connections that really put her on the map.
“I had music, I had an open, I had it all …
It was all choreographed,” she explained.
Thus, in 2003,Everyday Italianwas born.
Naturally, De Laurentiis was devastated.
“I would talk to him two to three times per day.”
“Those are the two most important things,” she explained in a PSA (viaEntertainment Tonight).
De Laurentiis regularly pays tribute to her brother onInstagram, and remembers him on hisbirthday.
AfterEveryday Italianbecame super successful, spinoffs followed suit, according to her Food Networkbio.
you’re free to also catch De Laurentiis onFood internet Star.
Our girl certainly stays busy!
That was followed byeight additional cookbooks, which landed her onThe New York Times’Best Seller list on multiple occasions.
There’s no question, then, that De Laurentiis had become a bona fide celebrity.
So it wasn’t too surprising that she and her husband had mutually decided against having children.
The star and her husband welcomed their daughter when De Laurentiis was 37.
“I’ve continued my life exactly as it was,” she continued.
“Jade knows her mother works and travels, and she travels with me.”
“It’s like a game of chess or Monopoly.
You have to learn how to play the game.”
Apparently that’s something that De Laurentiis does quite well!
For a while, De Laurentiis understandably laid low.
Eventually De Laurentiis says she “turned the corner,” and was able to start dating again.
“You have to understand that coming from a Neapolitan family, men head up the empire.”
Not anymore, thanks to you, Giada!
“Those were the kinds of debates we would have.”
Sadly, De Laurentiis' grandfather passed away in 2010 at the age of 91, according toThe Guardian.
We can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes.
