Padma Lakshmi by Alexi Lubomirski for Vanity Fair

Padma Parvati Lakshmi (née Vaidynathan, born September 1, 1970) is an American television personality, model, and author. She hosted the cooking competition program Top Chef on Bravo continuously from 2006 to 2023. She is the creator, host, and executive producer of the docuseries Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, which premiered in June 2020 on Hulu. The series covers the food and culture of immigrant and indigenous communities across America. For her work with these two series, as an executive producer and as a host, she has received 16 Primetime Emmy nominations.

Born in India, Lakshmi immigrated to the United States as a child. She became a model before embarking on a career in television. She has written five books: two cookbooks, Easy Exotic and Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet; an encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World; a memoir, Love, Loss, and What We Ate; and a children's book, Tomatoes for Neela illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, the latter two appearing on The New York Times best-seller list. Lakshmi has formed and produced sales for five different businesses. In 2023, she was listed among Time's 100 most influential people in the world, was a co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America, and is a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador.