Motherhood has always been at the center of chef Antonia Lofaso’s universe. The Top Chef alum is a mom to one daughter, Xea Myers, whom she welcomed with late rapper Heavy D. Scroll below to get to know the Food Network star’s only child. 

Who Is Antonia Lofaso’s Daughter, Xea Myers? 

Antonia and Heavy D, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, welcomed their only child together in 2000. At the time, she was newly graduated from the French Culinary Institute and looking to start her career as a chef. Antonia competed on season 8 of Top Chef in 2008 and shared a number of sweet memories about her daughter over the course of the season. 

Antonia Lofaso Kids: Daughter Xea Myers With Heavy D
Courtesy of Antonia Lofaso/Instagram

Heavy D died in November 2011 at the age of 44 from a pulmonary embolism. Antonia revealed some of the ways she and her daughter cope with their grief after such a profound loss. 

“We moved and all that kind of stuff … we found a lot in going out to eat together. That’s kind of like our thing,” the restaurateur told Mashed in February 2023. “So, she knows how to cook. She knows how to cook well. But when we eat at home at our house, it’s like very clean eating and very sort of like not a lot of junk food in the house unless we’re having a dinner party or something like that. So, our stuff is like we’re going to go out to eat. And so, that’s always been our thing.”

The young talent has appeared on episodes of Guy’s Grocery Games alongside her mom, who is a frequent judge on the show. In addition to finding her own passion for cooking, Xea and Antonia are also very into fitness. The mother-daughter duo often work out together and have an unbreakable bond. 

“My mom is, hands down, the strongest and most hardworking person that I have ever come across,” Xea told Harry & David in April 2021. “You just have to know us to understand the energy that we have and the relationship that we share. It’s very special, for sure.”

Xea often posts tributes to her father on Instagram, sharing childhood memories and heartfelt captions. 

“I miss your laugh. I miss your smile. I miss everything about you,” she captioned a picture of the musician on Father’s Day in 2020. “This photo makes me so happy because it embodies everything GOOD about you. I wish I could talk to you every day about music and my life. I love you Papa, happy Father’s Day.”