Julia Roberts is such a big star that we'd have been forced to name her on this list no matter where she was from. For the majority of the 1990s, she was the highest-paid female performer in Hollywood. The decade didn't start out that way for her - she was paid a comparatively low fee of $300,000 for 'Pretty Woman' in 1990, but by 2000 her standard rate for a film was in excess of $20m. When she was paid $25m for 'Mona Lisa Smile' in 2003, it was a record for a female actress. She performs so effortlessly on the screen that it's almost like she was born to do it. There's a reason for that.
Both of Roberts' parents were actors - although they never achieved the same level of success that she has. They ran acting classes together in Atlanta, Georgia, and so Roberts learned the trade directly from them. Her brother Eric is also an actor. During her long career, she's been nominated for Academy Awards on four occasions, although to date she's only picked up an Oscar once when she won 'Best Actress' for 2000's 'Erin Brockovich.'
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.