Falana lived a life of glitz and glamour through most of the 1980s, including a famous night at the casino when she won a small stake in the New York Mets during a game of baccarat in 1983. Instead of immediately selling her stake, she took an interest in the team for a period of time before going on to sell it in 1988 for $14m. Sadly she wasn't selling it because she'd lost interest; she was selling it because her health was deteriorating.
Falana suffered a severe bout of multiple sclerosis in 1987. It left her partially blind and paralyzed down her left side. She was eventually able to recover some movement, but her career as a performer was over. She recorded one more song in 1995, but never took to the stage again. During her extended recovery, Falana became very religious, and gave up her public life completely to focus on pursuing spirituality. She is believed to be still alive and living in the Philadelphia area.
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.