Paula Deen

Photo of Paula Deen

Biography

A once-abandoned single mother who conquered crippling agoraphobia through her love of cooking, Deen leveraged her rich Southern cooking into a successful, regionally renowned restaurant. A self-admitted "cook" versus trained chef, the CEO of Paula Deen Enterprises expanded this renown into a multimedia empire, including cookbooks, a magazine, numerous shows on the Food Network cable channel and a syndicated daytime talk show for Warner Bros. …
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Job Title

Actor

Born

Paulann Hires on January 19, 1947 in Albany, Georgia, USA

Career Milestones

2008

Hosted the Food Network series "Paula's Best Dishes"

2006

Hosted the Food Network show "Paula's Party"

2005

Made her film debut in "Elizabethtown," playing Orlando Bloom's aunt

2002

Starred on her own show "Paula's Home Cooking" for the Food Network

1999

Began a collaboration with the Food Network by appearing in a series of "Doorknock Dinners" episodes; also appeared on "Ready, Set, Cook!"

1997

Self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking, a cookbook filled with all her own recipes

1996

Opened her own restaurant The Lady and Sons in downtown Savannah

Moved to Savannah, GA and started the catering service The Bag Lady