
Padma Lakshmi recently launched a new holiday edition of her own show Taste The Nation, which left fans wondering what her religion is.
The Hulu show sees the food writer take part in a traditional Cuban Nochebuena, which launched on the same day she posted a photo of her and her daughter dressed up for Diwali. During the show, she gets involved in different cultures and their traditional recipes.
Padma’s followers are now wondering what religion she follows, so Reality Titbit found out all about her roots, faith and ethnicity.
What is Padma Lakshmi’s religion?
Padma practices the Hindu religion. She was born in Madras (Chennai), India, and moved to New York City when she was four years old.
The food writer and host was born into a Tamil Brahmin family, a group which usually follow the Hinduism religion. She recently celebrated Diwali 2021, known as The Festival of Light, which is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists.
Some have questioned whether she is pretending to be Hindu, as she has been in relationships with non-Hindu men, such as billionaire Theodore Joseph Forstmann in 2009 to 2011. While this can be a rarity for some who follow the religion, marriages between Hindus and people of different or no faith are not uncommon.
The Hulu host’s ethnicity
Padma is of Asian ethnicity, and is fully Indian. Due to her multicultural background, she is fluent in English, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish and Italian.
Her mother Vijaya, a retired oncology nurse, got divorced from Padma’s father when she was two years old, before she immigrated to the United States and was raised in Manhattan, New York. She then moved to La Puente, California, with her mother and stepfather.
She was raised on a lacto-vegetarian Hindu Brahmin diet, and is the American Civil Liberties Union ambassador for immigration and women’s rights. Padma has been an outspoken critic of skin-lightening creams marketed to people of color, particularly in non-white majority nations.
The host, of Indian-American nationality, has also spoken about the colorism she has experienced while living in India and the United States.
Happy Diwali!!! 💫✨ pic.twitter.com/bXmOeAZP7w
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) November 4, 2021What to expect on Taste the Nation
Padma is set to take part in a number of holidays and cultural events, from Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, Seollal, and Nochebuena. She travelled to New York City to understand how America’s Hanukkah reflects acceptance of Jewish immigrants, and got involved in a Cuban Christmas in Miami.
She also uncovered the truth about Thanksgiving and the resilience of the Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation. Hulu’s Taste the Nation with Padma Laksmi: Holiday Edition is spread across a four-part series, where she also gets involved in the Korean New Year in Los Angeles.
It’s hard not to be emotional watching Cuban culture in Miami celebrated on @hulu’s Taste the Nation, debuting the day my dad would have turned 94. Thank you @PadmaLakshmi for highlighting our nochebuena. pic.twitter.com/nTAag7pu0w
— Carlos Frías (@Carlos_Frias) November 4, 2021WATCH TASTE THE NATION WITH PADMA LAKSHMI: HOLIDAY EDITION ON HULU NOW
AND GET FREAKY WITH US ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7HApaCtsaSewaO102eaqKVfrLWiwNJmpqdnp52utXnIrGShrZyqeqm70q1kqZmUoq5uuMCkqqGlmah6s7HLop6ip55irq%2BwjJ6roaaZmLa1xQ%3D%3D