There's no denying that Shaquille O'neal is and was the most dominant center to ever play the game of professional basketball. No matter who he faced throughout the prime of his career, teams had no way to stop him from entering the paint and flushing down a forceful dunk over his opponents. Shaq was originally drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft. He spent four seasons with the Florida franchise before signing a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers where he would become a household name and legend forever.
Shaq won three consecutive NBA Championships with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant from 2000-2002, all three years in which he received NBA Finals MVP before falling out with Bryant and the franchise and taking his talents to Miami where he won his fourth and final NBA title in 2006. It's hard to believe Shaq has only won one MVP Award which was in 2000 but has a long list of accolades that help him sleep well at night. To this very day, Shaq is everywhere from commercials to television as an analyst on Inside The NBA on TNT.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.