GIADA DE LAURENTI is the star of Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, and Giada in Paradise.
Born in Rome, Giada grew up in a large Italian family where the culture of food was a staple in and of itself. As the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada consistently found herself in the family’s kitchen and spent a great deal of time at her grandfather’s restaurant, DDL Foodshow.
She moved to the United States at the age of 7. She “didn’t speak a word of English, so the kids at school tormented me,” she explained. “It was horrifying the names they called me, and the teachers never really did a thing to stop it.”
Inheriting a passion for cooking, De Laurentiis studied at Le Cordon Bleu. Her mother, Veronica De Laurentiis, is an actress, and her father, Alex De Benedetti, is an actor and producer. She worked as a caterer before landing her first cooking show, Everyday Italian. Giada’s career start on Food Network began in 2002 when she was discovered by a network executive upon reading an article about her and the De Laurentiis family in FOOD & WINE magazine.
Making her debut in 2003, De Laurentiis hosted Everyday Italian, a half-hour cooking show. The 2005 companion cookbook for the series became a hit as well. De Laurentiis landed on the best-sellers list with 2006’s Giada’s Family Dinners and 2007’s Everyday Pasta: Favorite Pasta Recipes for Every Occasion. Also in 2007, she debuted a new food-and-travel themed show, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, on the Food Network, which ran for several years.
More info: www.giadadelaurentiis.com
