While you may be familiar with the allegations and admissions that caused the Paula Deen
empire to crumble, you may not know everything about what it took to build that empire, who
helped along the way, and exactly how many crumbs are left over.
Born Paula Ann Hiers in Albany, Georgia, Paula Deen did not officially become a Deen until
1965, when the 18-year-old future celebrity chef married her high school sweetheart.
Marriage to Jimmy Deen — and no, that's not the same guy that makes the sausage — would
quickly prove to be no picnic.
His rampant alcoholism challenged the marriage's foundation, while Deen was kept busy raising
their two young sons, Bobby and Jamie.
Even though she left him much earlier, the official legal split of the couple only came
in 1992.
In an excerpt from her book, Paula Deen: It Ain't All About The Cookin, she explained
just what it was that ultimately led to the end of the union:
"He drank, and he drank way too much to suit me."
Deen's hard times were further expounded by the deaths of both her parents — her father
passed away when she was 19, and her mother when she was 23.
She was plunged into a state of depression and deep anxiety, and also suffered from agoraphobia,
an anxiety disorder that causes sufferers to avoid stressful situations, often avoiding
leaving the home entirely.
On Oprah's Next Chapter in 2012, Paula explained how her agoraphobia stemmed from her deep
religious beliefs, and her feeling that her own father's death meant that she was destined
to die soon.
“So at 19, I woke up every day waiting to die.
That’s heavy!”
In 2008, Deen told Good Housekeeping that she hadn't spent much time in the kitchen
as a youngster.
She confessed that a very busy social life meant it wasn't until she was in high school
that she asked her mother for cooking lessons, but was quickly asked to leave the kitchen.
It was her maternal grandmother, Irene Paul, who had the biggest influence on her kitchen
education, and who also helped her to climb out of her lingering depression and crippling
anxiety.
The two spent time making Southern classics like fried chicken and collard greens, until
Deen had summoned the courage and the spare cash to get away from her alcoholic husband
and retreat with her boys and younger brother, Bubba, to Savannah, Georgia.
There, she did whatever she could do to make ends meet, taking on jobs like selling insurance
and hanging wallpaper.
Her eureka moment came in 1989 when she decided to sell "lunch-and-love-in-a-bag" to busy
Savannah workers.
That first company, The Bag Lady, fed the local community Southern favorites like ham
salad sandwiches and banana pudding, and paved the way for a Deen family empire to begin
to grow.
The fast success of The Bag Lady saw the company move out of the Deen house and into the small
restaurant of a Savannah Best Western.
Eventually, a larger space called The Lady and Sons opened in downtown Savannah.
A cookbook followed in 1998, Deen appeared on QVC, and USA Today awarded the restaurant
with its coveted "International Meal of the Year" title in 1999.
Things were looking up.
Deen's talents and down-home Southern charm caught the eye of famed television host and
producer, Gordon Elliott, who, along with power agent Barry Weiner, campaigned for her
to join the ranks of Food Network's cadre of chefs and home cooks.
Deen was a guest on a couple of Elliott's shows for the network before shooting her
first pilot, Afternoon Tea.
She got the thumbs up for her first series, 2002's Paula's Home Cooking, followed by Paula's
Party in 2006.
Bobby and Jamie's own show, Road Tasted, followed later that same year.
The next few years saw no end of accomplishments.
Deen launched a self-titled magazine, published more cookbooks and a memoir, released multiple
product lines, won a 2007 daytime Emmy award for Paula's Home Cooking, and began filming
her third Food Network series, Paula's Best Dishes, in 2008.
When Paula Deen first met her former agent, Barry Weiner, she told him that she wanted
to be the "Martha Stewart of the South."
Weiner told her that she would be even bigger.
And according to the book, From Scratch: Inside the Food Network, Weiner credits 9/11 with
helping him make that ascent begin to happen.
Wiener had his work cut out for him with Paula Deen, as the Food Network did not initially
jump at the chance to showcase a middle-aged, overweight woman with a Southern drawl, especially
with their programming leaning more to coastal, high-end fare.
And then 9/11 happened.
Weiner pointed out to the network that the nation was looking for comfort, at a time
when, he said,
"One thing that we've all learned because of 9/11 is we're all going to die, whether
we eat fried chicken, or we don't eat fried chicken."
In her 2007 memoir, Deen credited Weiner with being, quote, "the closest thing I've had
to a father since my real father died."
This relationship was not nearly as enduring; in 2013, in the midst of scandal, they parted
ways.
Paula Deen and company got their first nibble of what a backlash could taste like when Deen
announced her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in early 2012.
Though many fans appreciated her candor and her promise to shift the focus of her shows
to healthier cooking methods, many others were quick to point out that she knew about
this diagnosis for some time, but had continued to shoot her programs filled with fat- and
sugar-laden recipes.
Most troubling for some was the fact that Deen announced her diagnosis at the same time
that she, along with her two sons, began endorsing the Danish diabetes medication, Victoza.
Even fellow celebrities took aim at her, and Anthony Bourdain summed up the controversy
with this tweet:
"Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches
later."
Though Food Network had just started airing Bobby Deen's health-minded cooking show, Not
My Mama's Meals, the network claimed to have had no prior knowledge of Deen's diabetes
diagnosis.
Deen forged on with her transformation to promote a healthier lifestyle, but public
sentiment seemed to be turning for many who criticized her many endorsement deals for
everything from mattresses to coffee to controversial Smithfield Foods.
Troubles really started in 2013, when a former employee of Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House
sued the Deens, accusing them of racism, discrimination, and sexual harassment at the workplace.
The restaurant was run by Deen's younger brother, and while under oath for a deposition, she
was asked if she had ever freely used racial slurs.
Deen replied, quote "Yes, of course."
As if that wasn't bad enough, she also admitted to suggesting an antebellum-themed party where
all the servers would all be middle-aged African American men, dressed as slaves.
The backlash was swift as the news of Deen's comments went public.
Deen's camp was quick to issue a statement claiming that Deen was merely a product of
a different generation, and didn't actually condone racism, but the damage was largely
done.
Deen released a teary-eyed apology, saying, in part,
"Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me, but
it's [...] what's in the heart.
And my family and I try to live by that.
And I am here to say I am so sorry.
I was wrong, yes, I've worked hard and I've made mistakes.
But that is no excuse.
And I offer my sincere apology to those I have hurt, and I hope that you forgive me,
because this comes from the deepest part of my heart."
Deen saw her contract with Food Network terminated, and then watched as the retailers and companies
she had lucrative deals with quickly severed ties with the disgraced star.
Pop culture also made it clear she was not going to be forgiven easily.
“Which N-word is she talking about, there’s a whole bunch of N-words.”
“Well, the bad one.”
“Like nutrition…”
“No.”
Dora Charles worked for Paula Deen for 22 years, coming to her as a cook when Deen was
still operating out of the Savannah Best Western.
Charles quickly became an integral part of the Deen kitchen, helping to open The Lady
and Sons, then taking on major responsibilities like training staff and developing recipes.
Deen referred to Charles as her, quote, "soul-sister."
But Charles was still making $10 an hour long after Deen and family were featured prominently
on Food Network.
Though Charles did enjoy perks, like jobs for friends and family, stints on celebrity
cruises where she worked without pay, but with expenses covered, and occasional swag
and goodies, it was not until the major lawsuit hit that Charles received a salary and bonus.
With mixed feelings, Charles spoke out about the racism and ill-treatment she witnessed
within the company.
By 2015, Charles had left the Deens' employ, and published her own cookbook, A Real Southern
Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen.
In the acknowledgements she wrote, quote, "Without Paula, this book wouldn't exist."
Anyone who has enjoyed Paula Deen's programs is no doubt familiar with her husband, Michael
Groover.
The two tied the knot in 2004, and their wedding reception at The Lady and Sons — complete
with a spread of Southern food classics like shrimp and grits and pickled okra sandwiches
— was filmed for Food Network.
Groover was featured prominently in Deen's programs, and he even penned his own memoir
which testified to the couple's "soul mate" bond.
Divorce rumors sparked in 2013 when a tabloid published a story claiming that Groover was
having a long-time affair.
Shortly after that story ran, Deen filed paperwork to transfer the deed on the couple's $1.3
million home over to Groover as a gift, a move that caused many to speculate that the
"gift" was actually a quiet divorce settlement.
But in 2015, Deen announced that the deed transfer had been a misunderstanding, and
filed to return the house to both their names.
In a 2016 blog post on Deen's website, Deen celebrates the couple's 12th anniversary by
reminiscing about their wedding day, saying that she and her soul mate are still in the
"honeymoon phase" of their marriage.
Back in 2012, Deen was getting some serious hate for continuing to promote her fat- and
butter-heavy cooking style, making around $10 million a year, and concealing the fact
that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Fast forward a few years, and it appeared that she had taken the criticism to heart.
When Deen released a new cookbook in 2015, she talked to the Huffington Post about it.
Paula Deen Cuts the Fat included not just a whole bunch of new recipes, but 50 old favorites
remastered to include healthier ingredients.
She said that her tastes had changed, noting:
"Habits form very quickly, and once you start modifying the way you eat, you end up forming
a new, healthier habit."
And it seemed she had taken her own advice.
By that same year, she had shed an impressive 40 pounds, and had told Doctor Oz that even
though she hadn't accepted her diagnosis at first, she finally kicked it into high gear.
"I went home to my kitchen and I threw out everything that was white.
White bread, white rice, white potatoes, and white pasta.
[...] The thing that I'm trying to really focus on, y'all, is moderation, moderation,
moderation."
Watch her on television or in an interview, and most of the time, you get the impression
that Paula Deen is just a sweet, grandmotherly southern lady.
But some of the things she says and does are shockingly R-rated.
In 2012, The NY Post got ahold of a blooper reel with a weird story.
According to them, the video was originally given to a group called Celebrity Chefs Tour,
with instructions it was to be played before her live cooking demonstrations.
But it was filled with so much profanity that they refused to show it, and it became the
topic of a lawsuit and the reason for Deen backing out of a 10-city tour.
And it's bad.
When CNN played it, they bleeped almost everything, and didn't even show the part where she made
some decidedly indecent gestures with an eclair.
Many of the words she's been overheard using can't be repeated in polite company, and she
apparently has a tendency to share way too much on her celebrity cruises, including the
strangest places she'd gotten intimate with her husband.
TMI.
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