Giada Pamela De Laurentiis (born August 22, 1970) is an Italian-American chef, writer, caterer, and cooking personality. She became famous from her Food Network show Everyday Italian, which now airs in reruns on Cooking Channel, owned by the same parent company. Most recently, she hosts Giada at Home on Food Network. Giada was one of the wave of Food Network hosts that brought the network mainstream, along with Rachael Ray, and Emeril Lagasse before them.
The granddaughter of the late Italian movie producer, Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and emigrated to Los Angeles with her family at a young age. After studying at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, she returned to L.A. to become a professional chef.
Since making her debut on Everyday Italian, she's become extremely popular and is one of the first people who comes to mind when the Food Network is mentioned. Also, Everyday Italian is in syndication on sister network The Cooking Channel.
Shows she's hosted:
- Everyday Italian
- Behind the Bash
- Giada's Weekend Getaways
- Giada in Paradise Two specials actually. The first one, a few years ago, involved her going to the Greek island of Santorini (aka where the legend of Atlantis may have been inspired from) and the Italian island of Capri. The second one, from 2012, sees her going to Tahiti.
- The Next Food Network Star: She became a mentor in Season 6 and a judge as of Season 7
- The Today Show: Not actually an official host, but she does show up as the resident culinary expert.
This TV chef contains examples of:
- Family Business: Her maternal grandfather Dino was a famous film producer, as was her great-uncle Luigi, her first cousin once removed Aurelio and her aunt Raffaella. Her parents Veronica De Laurentiis and Alex De Benedetti, as well as her grandmother Silvana Mangano, are or were actors in their own right. And finally, her daughter Jade can sometimes be seen working as an assistant or sous chef.
- Food Porn: Her shows are known for their appetizing shots of pastries baking in the oven, sped up so that they appear to bake right before your eyes, and for glamorous shots of all the food in general. Giada's orgasmic reactions upon eating the food (especially if it contains mascarpone cheese) just drives the point in further.
- Genki Girl: When she's excited about something, she tends to get really excited.
- Ms. Fanservice: For a while, TV Guide had a running point / counterpoint in their letter to the editor about whether or not her necklines were too low.
- Older Than They Look: She's passed the 50 mark and looks at least 15 years younger.
- Perpetual Smiler: Man, you thought Rachael Ray had a mouthful of teeth?
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Not in the fighting sense, but she's five one and has quite the enterprise under her belt.
- Travelogue Show: Giada's Weekend Getaways and Giada in Paradise.
