(Mar. 8) – Giada De Laurentiis is one of the America most-loved culinary star. With an impressive background of culinary training and a unique personable charm, she is a celebrity chef, also known for the success of her cookbooks, brand alliances, food products and a recurring role on the “Today Show”. Born in Rome, Giada is the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano. She moved her first steps at the grandfather’s Italian specialty food store, DDL Foodshow, and then, after a degree in anthropology at UCLA, she started to pursue her passion for cooking studying. Giada’s career started on Food Network – a television specialty channel – in 2002 when she was discovered by a network executive upon reading an article about her and the De Laurentiis family in Food & Wine magazine. Since then, Giada has earned an Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and has become one of Food Network’s most recognizable faces. The foray into cookbooks was an obvious decision, allowing Giada’s loyal viewership to reference, prepare and share their favorite recipes. Until now, she has published four books, and all of them are bestsellers in the United States. Giada’s overall success and notoriety yielded her a role as spokesperson for Barilla, the world’s largest producer and manufacturer of pasta. Giada took her relationship with Barilla one step further, entrusting the Italian arm of the brand, known as Academia Barilla, to license and produce four products under her name. (Peg)
