Padma Parvati Lakshmi blank">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482290/ is an Indian-_American cookbook author, actress, and former Super Model who has described herself as the first well-known model from India. Jess Cartner-Morley, "Beautiful and Damned", The Guardian, 8 April 2006blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748147,00.html She has been the host of the reality television program _Top Chef since season two and is an ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
Speaks five languages.
Has a seven inch scar on her inside arm as a result of a major auto crash that she was in as a child.
She hosts "Padma's Passport" on the Food Network based on her popular cookbook, "Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-fat Recipes From Around The World".
Officially announced engagement to author Salman Rushdie on February 14, 2004, the 15th anniversary of the infamous fatwa issued against Rushdie by Islamic radicals for writing the novel "The Satanic Verses".
Was discovered by a photographer while spending part of her senior year studying in Spain and he convinced her to begin modeling.
Attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Wore a Luca Luca purple sari in her April 2004 wedding to Salman Rushdie.
Listed in People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful issue. (May 7, 2007).
Ranked #87 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.
