Rachael Ray is one of the most famous food television personalities today,
hosting multiple Food Network shows and her long-running daytime talk show.
Plus, there's a magazine with her name, and she runs a nonprofit organization.
Check out Ray's transformation from a middle-class kid in New York to media mogul.
It's hard to imagine Rachael Ray ever struggling to get by,
but her early life couldn't have been more different than her life today. Ray was raised
in Lake George, New York, along with her older half-sister and her younger brother.
In a 2006 interview on 20/20, she jokingly referred to herself as a "hick from the sticks."
She grew up in a family that absolutely loved food. Her mother's father, for instance, grew his
own food and cooked everything his family ate. Her mother went on to own a series of restaurants. On
her father's side, Ray was exposed to the cooking traditions of Louisiana. As Ray told Food Network,
"My first vivid memory is watching my mom in a restaurant kitchen. ... I was 3 or 4."
And apparently, "vino," Italian for "wine," was her first word.
One of Rachael Ray's most important influences was her Sicilian grandfather.
As she revealed to NPR, he taught her some important lessons.
For instance, on her first day of school, Ray put on her best dress and brought her
favorite sardine sandwich for lunch. She wrote in her book Rachael Ray 50,
"So I came home that day being the stinky girl in the funny clothes with the funny shoes.
And I said, I'm never [...] going back to school, ever [...] again.'"
Luckily, Ray's grandfather was there to help. He taught her,
"There's plenty in life that you have no control over that you will cry about.
Certainly your vanity should never be one of them, you know?"
Ray's grandfather was clearly incredibly
influential in helping Ray become the confident woman she eventually became.
"My grandfather. I was joking about it earlier. I lost him when I was so
very young, but he was absolutely my best friend."
In just about every interview, Rachael Ray sings the praises of her mother. As
Ray explained in her 20/20 interview, her mother and father divorced when she was 13. She and her
siblings often went to work with her mother, who managed a series of local restaurants. Ray said,
"I'm a pale comparison next to her. [She would work] 100
hours a week. [...] She was like the person I look at, and I said, 'Wow.'"
As Ray told the Food Network, if she wasn't with her mother at a local restaurant,
they were in the kitchen. It was here that her mother instilled in her fundamental lessons on
food and on life. "Don't take yourself too seriously" and "food is just food"
are two of the bits of wisdom from her mother by which Ray has always abided.
Rachael Ray has an undeniable dynamism. As she explained to Good Housekeeping, she has pretty
much always been this way. In high school, she was one of the brave cheerleaders, quote,
"who climbed to the top of the pyramid and then flipped into the arms of other cheerleaders."
She even began showcasing her penchant for the food business,
creating her own food gift-basket business called Delicious Liaisons .
In an episode of The Rachael Ray Show, the host actually returned to Lake George High School
20 years after graduating. As Ray's P.E. teacher and cheer coach recalled,
"Very energetic, enthusiastic. Always somebody that the kids wanted to be around."
Her old guidance counselor found a hilarious old report that mentioned
that Ray had sometimes resorted to "bossiness" among her peers.
Sounds like Ray's powerhouse personality really started to take shape in her high school years.
Rachael Ray's mother introduced her to the world of food from
an extremely early age thanks to her restaurant business. Ray told Forbes,
"I literally grew up in restaurants, and kitchens, and walk-ins."
So it was no surprise that her first jobs were working in a restaurant as a dishwasher
and a waitress. While she found being a dishwasher difficult,
calling it "humbling," she loved her time as a waitress. Ray recalled,
"I went to work with enthusiasm and purpose to do that job better than I did the day before.
That makes your life very meaningful."
She went on to explain that those early jobs in restaurants
"mapped out my entire existence" and informed her approach to her food brand.
As Ray wrote in the introduction to her book Rachael Ray 50, she is
"A waitress in my heart and a cook in my soul."
Rachael Ray's big break was a little unexpected. Her first television jobs were on local TV.
Her first TV appearances came from local 30-minute cooking classes in upstate New York.
As Ray told Good Housekeeping, this first show was "a happy little accident." And at the time,
it wasn't the direction that Ray thought her career would or should take. She recalled to NPR,
"The television thing is a very weird happening for me, and certainly not anything I planned for."
For a while, she resisted the world of television.
She explained that it initially felt like the wrong job for her. At the time, she thought,
"I serve people. I'm the service person. I wait on people that are on TV. I'm not on TV."
And when the Food Network came calling, she voiced her concerns.
Luckily, they convinced her to take the job.
Ray got married in 2005, a move that slows career momentum for some. But as the TV star explained to
Good Housekeeping, putting her career second to her new marriage was never an option. She said,
"I can't give a man an enormous amount of attention. And John is totally down with that."
Ray met her husband-to-be, John Cusimano , in 2001,
just as her career on TV was taking off. She had already decided that she'd never
settle down with someone who was too much work. Luckily, he didn't demand too much of her time.
The couple enjoys their time together when they can, though. Ray explained,
"John and I will stay up long enough to have a laugh and share a meal, even if it's really late."
Not only is Cusimano super understanding of
his wife's busy career, he has also become a collaborator and supporter
In 2012, he co-authored a cookbook with her, contributing recipes for unique cocktails.
In 2009, Ray underwent a surgery that ended up being quite a turning point in her life.
Prior to the operation, Ray explained in a post on her website that she had developed a benign
cyst on her vocal cords that sometimes caused pain and vocal issues. She wrote,
"[My doctor] suggested I get the thing lobbed off and rest
my voice for about two weeks while I am on holiday break this December."
For someone as chatty and vivacious as Ray,
the long vocal rest proved to be seriously challenging.
People reported that the cyst was removed in July 2009. As Ray later told Good Housekeeping,
the vocal rest left her with lots of pent up energy. She even took up jogging. She joked,
"I used to say I would never run unless I was being chased by someone with a gun.
But now I'm a little obsessed with it."
She lost weight, and became even more energetic, if you can believe it.
“Because I worked 80-100 hours a week, I thought that was fitness. It isn't."
Rachael Ray hasn't always had an easy time in the public eye.
Some of her decisions have caused a fair amount of backlash. For example, in 2011,
Ray stood up for her friend, chef Mario Batali , as he faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
NPR noted that Ray and Batali had been colleagues since competing together on Iron Chef. While Ray
hadn't spoken to Batali about the allegations, she refused to give up their friendship. She said,
"I don't think it's fair. Once people have
gone through something that's so traumatic and dramatic."
It wasn't just Batali she thought of; it was his family, too.
She said she could empathize with Batali because
she has also been publicly humiliated and hated throughout her career. She explained
"I'd go to interview after interview and people would bring up the website I Hate Rachael Ray."
Even though Rachael Ray is easily one of the most successful cooks in the world,
she has always remained humble. Unlike some others in her industry,
Ray is constantly transforming as she learns new things.
In 2015, she spoke to Food Network about the importance
of continually expanding her horizons. She said,
"I don't really know anything, and I think that that's what makes our shows popular, you know?"
She added that, for her, good television should be about starting a conversation
and sharing information. She summed up her approach to learning, saying,
"I try and be curious and dedicated and authentic when I go to work."
Ray's career has thrived thanks to this approach. As Fox2Now noted,
she is "kind" and "giving," and as ABC News put it, she is "funny, relaxed, and even humble."
It's clear that people have picked up on Ray's humility in the kitchen and eagerness to learn.
Ray has created an empire out of her brand. In addition to her various cooking shows
on Food Network, Ray has released more than two dozen books, her own magazine,
a set of kitchenware, and a billion dollar pet food brand. In 2019, E! News reported
that Ray' net worth had grown to a staggering $80 million thanks to these various ventures.
As Entrepreneur reported in 2017, Ray's rise to the top is no surprise.
She showcases several attributes shared by other top business men and women.
For instance, she knows her audience, and knows how to provide products and content
that they love. Plus, her authenticity means people trust her brand. She told the magazine,
"People smell phony."
It's evident that Ray's relatable and friendly persona is a genuine aspect of her personality,
but it's also clear that it's something the business mogul is conscious about.
For many women in the public eye, middle age proves to be a difficult time. In the
entertainment industry in particular, women often find themselves losing popularity as they age.
For Rachael Ray, her 50th birthday was a challenge she met head on.
She told NPR that her book Rachael Ray 50: Memories and Meals From a Sweet and
Savory Life was, in part, a statement about what middle age can be for women in America. She said,
"I wanted to reflect that the American dream is still alive,
that if you work very hard, opportunity will come your way. [...] You can be 50 and over
and female in this country and still be relevant."
She went into more detail about the book on The View, saying,
"I wanted to prove to people that anybody could be Rachael Ray."
A lot changed for almost everyone in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
and it was no different for Rachael Ray. As the star explained to US Weekly,
the pandemic forced her and her husband to switch up their routines in isolation. Ray said,
"John and I have always worked together, but in separate buildings."
However, in 2020, they worked in the same building, all the time,
which she called a "huge adjustment."
The change helped Ray develop a deeper appreciation for her husband's work. Since Ray
was also making her show from home, her husband had to take on multiple new roles like "cameraman
and tech services." The pandemic actually brought the couple closer together. Ray said,
"I think we have a deeper appreciation of each other."
2020 also presented some problems for Ray and her husband. Just before the premiere
of the 15th season of her talk show, their home was destroyed in a devastating fire.
The star spoke about the impact of the fire on Good Morning America, recounting how her husband
had been out playing golf, and had returned in a bad mood after playing poorly. She recalled,
"I thought, 'Well, I'll make pasta, and I'll light a fire and that'll put him in a good mood.'"
A few minutes after lighting the fire, a passerby ran into their backyard yelling that their roof
was on fire. Luckily, Ray and her husband made it out unscathed, but they lost their home and
many treasured belongings, including handwritten letters and other personal items. Nevertheless,
Ray managed to remain positive, telling The Hollywood Reporter,
"We had so much to be grateful for."
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