Most of the negativity that comes Hayden Christensen's way can be attributed to a decision he made in his career as an actor - he accepted the part of Anakin Skywalker in the 'Star Wars' prequels of the early 21st century. People hated those films, they hated the character, and they hated Christensen for his part in the whole sorry affair. That's not very fair to Christensen, who was simply a man doing his job. His greater crime might be that he wasn't all that good at acting - a pastime he's since mostly retired from.
Now he isn't acting so much, Christensen is able to devote more time to his environmental interests. He bought a farm in 2007 and learned how to run every aspect of it, from tending to the livestock to planting crops. As with many high-profile celebrities, he doesn't keep all of his time or his money for himself either. He's worked with the charity RED to promote awareness and fundraising efforts in an effort to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
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.