While Marcus Camby is a Connecticut native, sometimes you have to respect on the OGs of the game's names. At just 5'9, Calvin Murphy found his way to the 1970 NBA Draft and selected at 18th overall by the San Diego Rockets where he would play his entire thirteen-year NBA career. In an era where big men dominated the game, the Norwalk, Connecticut-bred point guard would go on to average a total of 17.9 points per game throughout his career.
That's not all Murphy accomplished throughout his pro-basketball days. Murphy earned a spot on the 1979 NBA All-Star roster and Basketball Hall of Fame, making him the shortest NBA player to achieve both milestones in NBA history. To this very day, Calvin Murphy is an important part of the Houston Rockets organization working as a color commentator on the team's broadcast crew on the Rockets' AT&T Sportsnet Television channel.
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.