Patty Sheehan was the first LPGA player to come out as gay during her active career and has since gone on to become a role model for lesbian athletes and female golfers in general with her incredible career. She's won an incredible 35 LPGA tours including six majors and was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1993 when she was still in her 30s, and still playing! That was in recognition of her 1992 achievements, which included being the first woman to win both the British and US Opens in the same year.
At the peak of her fame, Sheehan was a household name. She won the coveted Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Award in 1987, back when it was still called 'Sportsman of the Year' and women very rarely even came into consideration for it. She retired from regular competition in 1996, but continued playing in (and winning) legends tours until 2006. She has two adopted children with her partner Rebecca Gaston.
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.