Love him, hate him, or idolize him, chances are you know exactly who Guy Fieri is.
The celebrity chef has become a household name thanks to the Food Network, which helped
launch his career in 2006.
Here is the stunning transformation of Guy Fieri.
Guy Fieri was born on January 22, 1968 at the Riverside Maternity Unit in Columbus, Ohio.
At the time, Fieri's parents were students at Ohio State University, but they relocated
the family to Northern California shortly after Fieri was born.
And while Fieri is a California dude through and through, the denizens of Columbus still
feel connected to him.
Growing up, Fieri unabashedly looked up to his father, a self-made man who was capable
enough to build their home after serving in the Navy.
He told “Thrillist,”
"My dad donates all his time to community.
He's always been this guy that I aspired to be, and still do."
Fieri added that his love and respect for his father isn't some goofy, delusional kid
thing; his pops is the real deal.
Guy Fieri's love of food was evident early on in his life.
One especially notable example was his utter passion for the soft pretzels he would have
for lunch on ski trips as a child.
Fieri extolled the virtues of said snacks to his father, which inspired a business idea.
Fieri revealed in an interview with “Variety,” saying,
"My dad says, 'If you're such a fan of these pretzels, why don't you own a pretzel business
when we get back home?'"
Why not, indeed?
To that end, the 10-year-old Fieri decided that the best way to go about opening a pretzel
business would be to ask the man who sold them for the manufacturer's address.
However, once Fieri asked, the seller guessed his strategy.
Fieri explained,
"I said, 'How'd you know?'
He goes, 'I'm not giving them to you.'
I said, 'I'm a kid!'"
Oof, even for a child, the restaurant business is brutal.
Fortunately, Fieri persevered.
Thanks to a little bit of dumpster diving, as he found the address on a box in the garbage.
He went on to have a profitable pretzel enterprise for six years.
Start 'em young, they say.
One thing that we didn't know until we did some serious digging is that Guy Fieri has
been married since 1995.
As he tells it, Guy met his wife, Lori Fieri, when she came into one of his Long Beach,
California establishments with an ex-employee.
And, while Guy was trying to get the pair to leave, he couldn't help but take notice
of his former worker's friend.
He revealed in a chat with “Delish,”
"I knew as soon as I saw her, I just knew."
Since Lori and her friend refused to leave, holding their ground, Guy decided to let them stay.
The trio ended up kicking it together.
That's when Guy learned Lori was in the midst of a cross-country move, all the way from Rhode Island.
But Cupid had other ideas.
Guy continued,
"She never made it to San Diego."
After that fateful meeting, the Fieris have been peas and carrots, something that Guy
says takes commitment.
He added,
"To get here, you have to be willing to adapt and understand.
It's all compromise and understanding."
Anyone who's ever laid eyes on Guy Fieri can't help but notice his now-iconic hairstyle,
which definitely gives us some serious '90s vibes.
But what you might still wonder is just how the frosted tips and bleached goatee came to be.
As it turns out, they're all thanks to Fieri's former hairstylist, a woman named Christina Jones.
He explained in an interview with “People,” saying,
"I was just kind of having one of those moods one day, and said, 'Just do whatever you want,'"
That's exactly what Jones did, though, believe it or not, at the time, Fieri didn't like
what he's clearly come to love.
He added,
"It was Friday night at like six o'clock.
I had to be at the restaurant.
So I put a ball cap on and walked to the restaurant."
Whatever reservations he had then clearly were temporary, as Fieri has been sporting
that look ever since.
However, there's one person who isn't exactly thrilled about it: his wife.
She shared,
"When I first met him, he had no goatee.
He had dark hair.
He wore a suit to work every day."
She added that although she prefers the clean-shaven look, she accepts her husband however he looks.
Guy Fieri was living his best life as a husband and a chef when the year 2005 rolled along,
and his friends told him to send in an audition tape for "The Next Food Network Star."
Fieri might not have known it then, but that was the path that would set his career in motion.
As we all now know, Fieri won that season of the competitive cooking program, which
launched his television career.
He confessed to Food Network,
"I keep in touch with my friends that I was on Season 2 with - most of them - and I think
about where it's taken me and the opportunities it's given me, and I'm very humbled [...] It's
really mind-blowing."
Fast-forward all these years later, and Fieri is still enjoying the prime of his career at Food Network.
He added that he feels blessed to be a member of the team.
In the midst of his career as both a chef and a television celebrity, Guy Fieri became a father.
Guy and his wife, Lori Fieri, have two children: a son named Hunter Fieri and a son named Ryder Fieri.
Unsurprisingly, Fieri is absolutely thrilled to be a father.
He proclaimed in an interview with “Delish”.
"My whole world revolves around my family.
That's what sets the tempo for everything I do."
That's the truth, as Guy never commits to anything without consulting his wife and children's schedule first.
The Mayor of Flavortown also strives to bring his family into his work.
This is evident from his shows "Guy's Family Road Trip" and "Guy and Hunter's European Vacation."
And, if you follow Guy on Instagram, you should know that his family, including his parents,
all put their stamp of approval on the amazing memes Guy posts.
One of the first shows that Guy Fieri ever helmed is the insanely successful "Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives," which features the celebrity chef as he tours the country - sometimes the world.
He samples cuisine from mom-and-pop restaurants.
“These are the places where kids got jobs.
These are places where you got engaged.
These are places where you had your great memories.”
The program debuted in 2006 and has lasted through multiple presidents - which Fieri
finds amusing.
He told “Thrillist,”
"That is the funniest thing I've ever heard.
I didn't ever put it into perspective!
When it spans three presidencies, I mean, come on."
Those of us who watch the show will often curse Fieri for making us hungry at inopportune times.
However, it's well known that appearing on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" can bring in
tons of cash for restaurants.
Fieri gushed in a chat with Robert Irvine,
"The show brings a lot of happiness to a lot of people.
I get letters and e-mails all the time and that's the beauty of it."
Just how long does Fieri plan to bring his iconic red Camaro to eateries everywhere?
Well, he added,
"As much as people will watch it and as many people as we can help with it, I'll do it
until that stops.”
That’s what we want to hear!
While Guy Fieri's life sounds pretty amazing - with his happy family, thriving career,
and fame - not everything is sunshine and rainbows for the celebrity chef.
For one, he has his fair share of haters.
But even more sad is that Guy lost someone very special to him in 2011.
He lamented in an interview with “Delish,”
"My little sister died of cancer eight years and three days ago.
It was terrible.
It was the worst thing."
We're so sorry for your loss, Guy.
In honor of his sister Morgan, Guy got a permanent piece of artwork inked on his arm.
He explained,
"I got this tattoo with her name on it because this keeps her with me every day.
Then I can talk about her."
Guy added that the tattoo contains the word "namaste," which she would often say.
He also remembers his sister on social media on special occasions.
While Guy Fieri has always been comfortable when it comes to money, these days he's a
seriously wealthy man.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Mayor of Flavortown is worth a cool $40 million
- Wow.
That makes him the highest paid chef on all of television, as noted by Forbes.
Not only that, but Fieri is also the highest paid star on the entire Discovery network.
That's pretty impressive for the former pretzel entrepreneur!
“Well done, brother.
Well done.”
All of that wealth is mostly due to Fieri's work with the Food Network.
He signed an $80 million contract with them in 2021, three years after inking a deal with
them for $50 million.
That's a $30 million raise!
Additionally, Fieri also makes money from his fleet of restaurants.
Oh, and don't forget his winery and various licensing deals.
While Guy Fieri may be rolling in his riches, he's not nearly at all stingy with the wealth he’s been blessed with.
Fieri's charity work is actually quite extensive, as giving back is core to his ethos.
He said a chat with “Thrillist,”
"That's how I try to live my life.
When you get to be in my situation, how can you look at the situation and not say, 'Oh
my gosh, I gotta give back.
I gotta give back immediately.'"
Some of Fieri's charitable efforts include his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
which is near and dear to his heart because of his sister's cancer diagnosis and death.
He added,
"I remember what it's like to be in a hospital with her.
I remember that feeling of just being bored and tired.
I was a kid, she was a kid, and I didn't understand it."
In addition to his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Guy Fieri has worked extensively
to support first responders.
For example, he's cooked food for the firefighters working to put out blazes in California, as
well as those displaced by those wildfires.
He's also thrown parties for first responders, particularly in the wake of the 2017 shooting
massacre in Las Vegas, as per “Delish”.
Additionally, Fieri has worked tirelessly to help those working in the restaurant industry.
For one, his show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" helps mom-and-pop restaurants dramatically
in what's known as the "Triple-D effect."
Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fieri helped to raise over $20 million for
struggling restaurant workers.
He shared,
"I've been through some s**t in my day [...] but in a million years, you never could have told
me a story as horrific, as decimating, as this has been."
And, in the wake of Hurricane Irma, Fieri wrote a check to chef José Andrés, who was
on the ground in Puerto Rico feeding displaced families.
According to “Delish,” Fieri cites the chef as major inspiration for his charity work, too.
Remember that viral comedy video about Guy Fieri that made the rounds a while back, the
one by Team Coco comedian Shane Torres?
In it, Torres hit on the fact that, despite being a good person, lots of people hate on
him with no real apparent reason.
Some people rag on him all the time, though he’s never really done anything wrong.
“People -BLEEP- on that dude all the time.
All he ever did was follow his dreams.”
However, as far as Fieri sees it, he can't control how other people perceive him or what
they make of aspects of his personality.
He explained in a chat with “Thrillist,” saying,
"People can believe whatever the hell they want, I don't care."
Who knew Fieri had a spicy side?
But, seriously, in a nutshell, Fieri doesn't care what people think of him.
He added,
"You gotta know me to be able to tell me what you think I should be doing [...] Because
if you get thrown off by the fact that I have bleach-blonde hair and tattoos [...] then
you really don't know me well enough to tell me to do anything or really have a position
that you should be making an opinion about me."
You tell 'em, Guy!
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