Full Name
Padma Lakshmi
Job Title
Author, Activist, Model, and TV Host
Speaker Bio
Internationally recognized for her work as a food expert, Padma Lakshmi serves as host and executive producer of Bravo’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef, which earned a 2020 Emmy nomination. She also serves as host and executive producer of the new Hulu show Taste the Nation which focuses on cultures that shaped American cuisine. Her writing credits include Easy Exotic, a bestseller that won the Best First Book award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, and her New York Times best-selling food memoir Love, Loss and What We Ate. She is set to publish her first children’s book, Tomatoes for Neela, in 2021. In addition to being named a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Padma serves as an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ambassador, focusing on immigrants’ rights and women’s rights. She recently was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, where she will work to grow support for the U.N.’s Global Goals, including addressing inequality worldwide. She is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Karma Award at Variety’s Power of Women event.
Padma Lakshmi