Paul Cummings was so convincing and gifted at portraying a woman that he made it a feature of his stage shows. He would walk onto the stage as Lavern Cummings, sing a few songs in a female voice, and then later in the set would drop into a deep baritone, shocking audiences in the process. Back when Cummings was performing in the 1950s, the phrase 'drag queen' was barely known at all. What we'd now call drag queens were simply known as 'female impersonators.'
Completely committed to her act, Cummings didn't even wear a wig; all of the hair was real, grown out and styled to resemble Marilyn Monroe. Her home territory was the gay paradise of San Francisco, where she was a regular at the Jewel Box Revue, followed by a long stint as a star attraction at Finocchio's. She may even have been around to tell us her stories today, but she was sadly killed in a car crash in 2018 at the age of 90.
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.