Padma Parvati Lakshmi, Lady Salman Rushdie is an American cookbook author, actress, and former model. Padma Lakshmi has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two. Padma Lakshmi was born in Chennai in a Tamil Iyer family before spending most of her adolescent life in the United States. Padma Lakshmi has appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan, L'Officiel India, Asian Woman, Avenue, Industry Magazine, Marie Claire (India Edition), Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country, and Newsweek. Lakshmi also posed nude for the May 2009 issue of Allure magazine. She is the first Indian woman to be a guest on and co-host on the TV show "The View".
