Rachael Ray is a celebrity — and not just to foodies.
But her story doesn't start with her first television appearance.
Her career spans decades, and it all started in her mother's kitchen.
Here's a look at the stunning way Rachael Ray has transformed over the decades.
Cooking is in Ray's blood.
Her family was in the restaurant business, and she grew up in her mom's restaurant, The
Carvery.
She told the Boston Globe,
"Literally my first memory in life was my mom on the phone fighting with a meat purveyor.
And I was on her hip, as I always was.
I was maybe 3.
She's talking on the wall phone.
She gets us all tangled up, because she's walking in circles pacing.
[...] And that's literally my first memory in life."
Ray said that she was "branded" with this memory, and it's evident that being raised
in the industry had a lifelong impact.
She told Forbes,
"I literally grew up in restaurants, and kitchens, and walk-ins, and that's just the environment
I felt most comfortable in: unloading trucks and stuff, and cleaning shrimp, and cleaning
out the walk-in, and just being around hard work and food.
It felt very normal to me."
Fans all over the globe adore the upbeat Ray, but the TV personality is no stranger to criticism.
Having some haters is inevitable when you've reached the level of fame and success that
Ray has, but she had an even earlier experience with being disliked.
Ray told Good Morning America about being bullied in school for her "stinky" lunch of
sardines and onions on bread with olive oil.
While it was a difficult time for her, Ray revealed that her grandfather gave her some
excellent advice that stuck with her for the rest of her life.
She shared,
"He made me count my fingers and he made me count my toes and he knocked on my skull and
his point was if you have 10 fingers, 10 toes and you still have a brain in your head, you
have absolutely no reason to be crying."
While many people move to the Big Apple in search of their big break, moving to New York
City was actually the wrong move for Ray.
In fact, she believes that if she hadn't left the city, she would have never become as successful
as she is.
Ray left New York City after a couple of years, citing a bad breakup, a broken ankle, and
two muggings as being the reason she left.
She explained to Vanity Fair,
"People have a lot worse things happen to them in life.
But I felt like the whole universe was telling me, 'You're not supposed to be here right
now.'"
Ray ended up moving back to upstate New York.
She told the Boston Globe,
"Had I not moved back upstate to the Adirondacks, I never would have been on Food Network, or
had a TV show, or any of that stuff.
I learned you have to work harder than anybody else and be grateful for it, and you have
to understand that sometimes the universe is showing you something, even when something
terrible happens."
Even though we tend to think of her as a TV chef, Ray wasn't originally on TV — she
broke into the industry with her cookbooks.
After leaving New York, she began teaching cooking classes.
It was there that she came up with the idea for her first cookbook: a collection of 30-minute
meals based on the classes she was teaching.
According to The Washington Post, Ray convinced Lake Isle Press to publish that first cookbook,
which was released in 1998, and the rest is history.
"That's amazing!"
From that first cookbook came the television appearances.
By 2001, Ray had sold 10,000 copies of her cookbooks and had her own TV segment in Albany,
New York, according to Westwind Communications.
From there, she landed a cooking demo on Northeast Public Radio's "Vox Pop," where she was scouted
by not just Food Network but also the Today show.
In March 2001, the Today show desperately needed someone on the show.
Guests had canceled because of a snowstorm, but Ray was undaunted, as Good Housekeeping
reported.
She drove nine hours through a blizzard in a journey that would have normally taken four
hours, and her hard work paid off.
That segment on the Today show marked a turning point in Ray's career.
A Food Network contract followed, as did more cookbooks and a talk show.
Today, Ray is a household name, and it's all due to her incredible work ethic and the fact
that she follows her instincts.
Fellow food personality Guy Fieri told Good Housekeeping,
"She started out doing demos in stores, then landed one show, which turned into two, and
then it just blew up.
Once you meet her, you understand just what a powerhouse she is.
This isn't a coincidental opportunity.
She was destined for this."
Ray has been happily married to John Cusimano since 2005, but she hasn't allowed her personal
life to get in the way of her career.
This doesn't mean she doesn't love her husband, though, and she's honest with Cusimano about
how she approaches their relationship.
She told People magazine in 2007,
"I can't give a man an enormous amount of attention.
And John is totally down with that.
When men I have dated over the years whined about, 'Oh, you make no time for me' — see
ya!
I just dumped them.
I don't need that pressure in my life."
Ray met Cusimano in 2001, and said that she was surprised to find someone so compatible
with her.
She explained,
"He came at a point in my life when I had decided, I'm not going to chase [marriage].
I don't think young men or women should feel pressured into marriage.
You shouldn't marry anyone, in my opinion, who you have to try hard for."
"He's actually very easy to be married to, but you can't have him!"
Even though Ray has built up quite the reputation for herself, she doesn't consider herself
a chef.
Many people might disagree with her, but Ray has a very specific reason for not wanting
to call herself a chef — and it makes a lot of sense.
She explained to the Boston Globe,
"Because people that are chefs go through a process to become one, and I did not.
I think that you should drive in your lane, and I like the word 'cook.'"
Even the title of "cook" doesn't sit quite right with the humble Ray, though.
She went on to say,
"I think of myself even more as a waitress than a cook.
I want to serve people; that makes me happy.
I want people to feel good about themselves, to be more adventurous, to try new things,
new flavors, to talk to each other more."
Ray's commitment to her work is a reason that she and her husband chose not to have children.
Even though she has been able to make room in her life for a partner, Ray doesn't feel
like she is able to dedicate time to having a child.
She told People magazine in 2007,
"I don't have time.
I work too much to be an appropriate parent.
I feel like a bad mom to my dog some days because I'm just not here enough.
I just feel like I would do a bad job if I actually took the time to literally give birth
to a kid right now and try and juggle everything I'm doing."
Years later, it looks like Ray hasn't changed her stance on having children.
She did, however, have a dog, a pit bull named Isaboo, who sadly passed away in 2020.
She's since adopted another dog, Bella Boo Blue.
It's safe to say that Ray is rich, but just how rich is she?
Her decades-long career has amassed her a huge following and a huge bank account, but
even Ray herself doesn't know just how large her net worth is.
According to The New York Times, there are reports that Ray's fortune surpasses $60 million,
but Ray was unable to confirm that number in a 2018 interview.
She said,
"I have no idea if there's $4 in my pocket or $400.
I never ask about it.
That's why I have bankers."
Ray doesn't just not know how much money she has, but she also doesn't care.
To Ray, money is just a byproduct of doing what she loves to do.
She explained,
"I don't want to know anything at all about what I've got or what I don't.
It's never motivated me.
It never will."
While Ray has active Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts, she isn't the most prolific
poster.
Unlike other celebs who carefully cultivate their social media images, Ray doesn't spend
very much time on social media, preferring instead to spend her time in the physical
world.
She told The New York Times,
"I don't take in negative information online.
I just don't feel it's a constructive use of my time, and I have too much work to do."
Perhaps even more surprising than Ray's relative quietness on social media is that she doesn't
have as many followers as you'd think for such a famous celebrity.
On Instagram, for example, Ray's follower account is just 1 million, although she has
more than 4 million on Twitter.
Her lack of followers may be, however, simply due to the fact that Ray doesn't prioritize
social media.
Even though she's a world famous celebrity, some things never change for Ray.
She could most certainly hire someone to cook for her, but she still chooses to cook dinner
every night at home.
It seems that she and her husband can be homebodies, at least when it comes to eating.
She told Forbes,
"I cook whatever my husband and I are in the mood to eat, but I prefer to be at home than
anyplace else, and it depends on how much time we have.
If I'm coming home at 8:30 or so, we're probably having pasta of some sort.
But we do prefer to eat in [rather] than takeout."
"Get in there, honey.”
“This is a Tuesday at our house."
That being said, Ray and her husband do enjoy the occasional takeout pizza.
Ray isn't your ordinary celebrity.
At heart, she's still a small town girl, and she refuses to buy into the celebrity lifestyle.
As the granddaughter of an immigrant, Ray is still in awe of her own success.
In her interview with Forbes, she said,
"It really is remarkable that in this country, in just two generations, you can go from walking
off a boat to being on television and having a successful brand.
It's amazing.
It really is."
Ray still refuses to live in the city, in spite of her success.
She lives in the Adirondacks and is content there.
She went on to say,
"I love New York, and I love that I get to have a taste of that world as well; the city
life; but I am from a small town, and this is where I grew up.
I'm comfortable here, because this is where I come from."
"I mean the whole region, I grew up there so I'm biased, but wow is it fabulous."
Cooking and television hosting are far from Ray's only talents.
In 2019, Ray branched out from the food industry and launched a handbag line during her [South
by Southwest] Feedback event in Austin, Texas.
The line includes a variety of bags as well as belts, all of which are made of Italian
leather and affordably priced.
In a post about the line on her website, Ray said,
"I think a bag should be functional, look really cool, and not be too precious.
You should be able to take it anywhere and it should last for years."
The line is called Convalore, which means "with valor."
Ray explained the name of the line, saying,
"To me, that means living with gusto."
The brand was launched on a new e-commerce site, We Are Moxie Made.
Ray said she created the site as, in her words, "a place that celebrates the work of women
[and] empowers female artists."
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