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‘Top Chef’ Star Padma Lakshmi Is a Great Mom — Meet Her Daughter, Krishna!
The best mommy-daughter duo in the kitchen! Top Chef star Padma Lakshmi is an incredible mama — and her only daughter, Krishna, is one cute little girl. Keep scrolling to get to know the kiddo.
The chef shares her only child with venture capitalist Adam Dell. The businessman’s brother is Michael Dell, the founder of the well-known computer company. When Padma became pregnant in 2009, she originally was unsure if Adam, 51, was the father of her baby. The reality star had recently ended a three-year marriage to author Salman Rushdie and wasn’t ready to settle down again, so she was dating two men: Adam and IMG CEO Ted Forstmann, who passed away from brain cancer two years later in 2011.
“I probably shouldn’t have been with anybody and just taken the time I needed for myself,” Padma previously explained on the Today show. “But I was presented with two very different, very interesting men and men do it all the time. I chose to do it. I was open with the men involved.”
Before he died, Ted fought to retain his parental rights to Krishna despite results of a paternity test confirming that he was not the child’s father. The three parties settled the custody battle out of court and agreed to joint custody. After seven years of coparenting, Padma and Adam started dating again in 2017 — but she isn’t in a rush to get married and is more focused on mom life.
In fact, her little girl is a regular on set with her while she films her many projects. “Now that she’s old enough, to where she has a scooter, and she scoots around the sound stage and everybody knows her and she knows everyone,” the Bravo star told The Daily Dish in 2018. “She feels like she’s a member of the crew.”
Krishna even has “her own little trailer” on set, Padma revealed, “So that even if we go really late, she can have regular child hours, although Krishna likes to stay up.”
When they’re not on location, the India native and her daughter are getting busy in their home kitchen. “Krishna has her own mortar and pestle, and she has a wooden kitchen at the end of my kitchen counter,” the proud mama told the outlet. “I put her there so when I’m cooking, she would have something to do. And now, she just sits on the counter with me and actually helps.”
Krishna has grown more comfortable in the kitchen and joins her mom whenever possible to help create delicious dishes. Fans love seeing them chat and cook together in Instagram videos.
“Krishna is a great cook, and loves experimenting with ingredients,” the Taste the Nation host told People in May 2021. “It’s been great to see her gain confidence and simply have fun in the kitchen.”
In November 2021, Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition premiered on Hulu. Krishna joined her famous mom in the kickoff episode, sharing a Hanukkah dinner together. The episode was proof that the pair have the sweetest bond. It was announced around that time that Top Chef would also be returning for its 19th season in March 2022. Padma revealed to People whether her daughter would be joining her on set in Texas.
“Krishna always traveled with me and was on the set of Top Chef all of her life,” the cookbook author said. “But now she’s growing up and she has her own life and school is important, so she doesn’t come for the whole season of Top Chef, so whenever I can take her with me for selfish reasons, I just want her close to me.”
