Padma Lakshmi is an Indian-born American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer. Her birth name is Padma Parvati Lakshmi Vaidynathan.She was just two when her parents divorced, and her mother moved to the US. Padma grew up living with her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York. (All pictures courtesy: Padma Lakshmi's Instagram account)

When Padma Lakshmi was 14, she met with a car accident in Malibu, California. The accident left,Padma Lakshmi with a fractured right hip and a crushed right upper arm. She had to undergo a surgery on her arm which left her with a 7-inch scar.

Padma Lakshmi started modelling at the age of 21 while studying in Madrid, Spain. She has modelled for top designers worldwide.She grabbed eyeballs when she stripped for magazines including Playboy and Allure.

Padma Lakshmi made her Bollywood debut in the 2003 film Boom as Shiela Bardez. In 2005, she played the role of Geeta in Paul Mayeda Berges' The Mistress of Spices.,In 2009, Padma Lakshmi starred in the Eels music video for the song 'That Look You Give That Guy' playing the love interest of Mark Oliver Everett.

Padma Lakshmi and celebrated author,Salman Rushdie met in 1999 at a party in New York when Lakshmi was 28 and single and Rushdie was 51 and married to his third wife. Lakshmi and Rushdie got married in 2004, dividing their time between London - where his two sons lived - and New York.

Padma Lakshmi later divorced Rushdie in 2007 and went on to become involved with Ted Forstmann, the billionaire chief executive of sports and artist management company IMG, who died in 2011 aged 71.

Padma Lakshmi has written an autobiography 'Love, Loss and What We Ate' that revealed intimate details of her failed marriage with Salman Rushdie.

As mentioned in Padma Lakshmi's autobiography, at first their marriage was blissful and Rusdie used to make breakfast for her every morning. But the book then goes on to paint a portrait of a demanding husband in need of constant attention. Lakshmi claims Rushdie was insensitive to her medical condition and he labelled her a "bad investment".

Padma Lakshmi, in her book, also revealed how Rushdie needed constant care, feeding, and frequent sex. 'It's not that I didn't want to be there for him, but something was very deeply wrong. And I didn't understand it. And that caused a whole lot of misunderstanding,' she said.

Padma Lakshmi has a daughter with venture capitalist Adam Dell.Talking about her pregnancy weight, she said in the book that she went from a size four to a size 14 when carrying baby girl Krishna around three years back and it took her 13 months to shed all those extra pounds.

As per Padma Lakshmi's experience, she says men don't want girls who are skinny. She said that men paid her more attention when she was a size 14.

Padma Lakshmi is super fit at 49. She welcomed daughter Krishna in 2010. Speaking about fitness, Padma Lakshmi said, "I'm lucky. I have a fast metabolism, I'm tall, and my digestive tract is ironclad and can really take a beating."

Padma Lakshmi added the glamour quotient to the kitchen world with her TV show Top Chef. She is a true example of talent who went global from the narrow lanes of Chennai to the broad avenues of Hollywood.

Padma Lakshmi, who manages to look skinny despite eating all that delicious food, had opened up about her diet and exercise regimen while revealing that she goes up two dress sizes after every season of Top Chef.

Padma Lakshmi had told Fitness magazine that she loves food way too much to starve herself just to look good. But she makes sure to hit the gym so she can enjoy what she eats.

When asked how she achieved her incredible post-baby body, Padma Lakshmi said, 'No meat, no cheese, no wheat, no fried food, no alcohol. I boxed twice a week, I lifted weight twice a week. For cardio, I ran up and down stairs, up to 70 flights a day. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.'

Padma Lakshmi's debut cookbook Easy Exotic won her the 'Best First Book' award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. She also received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for Top Chef.

Padma Lakshmi has also appeared on 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' in 2014. She has also been part of a lot of US-based reality shows as a guest judge or contestant like The View, Drop the Mic, RuPaul's Drag Race, Butterbean's Cafe. Currently, she is seen in the cooking show Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi.

We wish Padma Lakshmi a very happy birthday!