# Padma Lakshmi

Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan (born September 1, 1970) is an Indian American author, activist, model, and television host.

## Quotes

* New York City was my first introduction to America. It was a beautiful welcome because in the streets I saw people of all colors, wearing different outfits, clearly from different parts of the world. While I was still feeling like a foreigner, an immigrant, an outsider, there were so many people I could point to even as a young child who looked completely different, too.
** "Cover Story: An Exclusive Interview with Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef" in Artful Living (11 June 2020)
* The best way to improve matters in your own actions is to first understand and accept the reasons for systemic prejudice and how that discrimination manifests in people’s lives over generations. Then you have to accept the ways in which some groups — perhaps your own — have benefited from this societal favoritism. And then you have to open your mouth and be an active member of your community to vote out elected officials who are part of the problem.
** "Cover Story: An Exclusive Interview with Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef" in Artful Living (11 June 2020)
* Just by the very fact that my mother divorced my father — it was so taboo to have a divorce in India and you were ostracized — I saw her break barriers within her own life.
** "Cover Story: An Exclusive Interview with Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef" in Artful Living (11 June 2020)
* I would love to write more children’s books. I think children can understand complex things so long as you explain them in words they can wrap themselves around.
** "What I’ve Learned: Padma Lakshmi" in Esquire (2 November 2021)
* And the truth is, models are freaks of nature. We are not normal people, and we're just born this way because of a genetic cocktail that our parents gave to us. You know, most of us have a really high metabolism.
** "Padma Lakshmi, Model, Actor And TV Host, Says Above All, She's A Writer" in NPR (4 September 2020)
* Rejection is a part of my job. It has been a part of my career as a food person and a filmmaker. It was certainly part of my job as an actor, and even more part of a job as a model. So, it is something that I have to accept. It’s not for the faint of heart.
** "Padma Lakshmi Understands That American Foodways Are Complicated" in Harper's Bazaar (16 November 2021)
* The world is getting bigger and smaller at the same time. The possibilities and opportunities to taste different kinds of foods are much more prevalent today than even 10 or 15 years ago. At the same time, because people are traveling, in spite of certain parts of the world that are dangerous, you do get to try more things. With the Internet and Instagram, you get to know about all these funky dishes.
** "'You Have to Be Hungry' — An Interview with Padma Lakshmi" in ICE (13 July 2017)
* You know how you’re completely different with your mom than you are with your best friend, than you are with your romantic partner, than you are with your boss? They’re just different facets of me.
** "Padma Lakshmi’s Delicious Mission" in Vanity Fair (24 June 2021)
* Growing older gracefully means having a keen curiosity about learning things about the world that you didn’t know yesterday, no matter how many yesterdays you've had.
** "Padma Lakshmi, 51, Shares Her Top Tip for ‘Growing Older Gracefully’" in Prevention (4 November 2021)
* I wanted to do a show to give people whom I have grown up with, whether they were Filipino, Mexican or whatever, the platform to speak for themselves.
** "Padma Lakshmi On ‘Taste The Nation’s “Trojan Horse” Approach To Food And America – Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted" in Deadline (1 May 2021)
* The professional food world is dominated by men. But most of the actual cooking of food in the world is done by women. And we women have always had to make do with whatever we can. We’re a little bit like water—we find our way because we’ve had to.
** "Padma Lakshmi, 49, Reveals Her Exact 90Minute Workout That Tones Her Abs & Her Daily Diet" in Hollywood Life (14 July 2020)

## External links

* Encyclopedic article on Padma Lakshmi on Wikipedia
* Media related to Padma Lakshmi on Wikimedia Commons