One thing that happens when you're pregnant is that as your stomach starts to stretch. It itches! So I have to keep my belly really lubricated. Every morning, there's a buttering ceremony after I get out of the shower. It's really like basting a turkey with body butter.

She grew up shuttling between her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York. She speaks English Tamil Hindi Italian and Spanish.

She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two in 2006 for which Padma Lakshmi received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. Padma Parvati Lakshmi (pronounced [ˈpəd̪maː ˈpaːrʋət̪iː ˈləkʃmiː]; born September 1 1970) is an Indian American cookbook author actress model and television host.