Before she became a chef on TV, this famous name had struggled a lot in her life. She was the oldest sister of her four siblings, and she cared for them while her mother couldn’t due to her addiction.
As time passed, she became a huge TV chef, and stopped caring about her financial status. She also gave back to the people who needed help.
“She just would not come out of the bedroom or not get out of bed,” the famous name stated once in an interview.
“We were on welfare and food stamps, and I remember going out to the mailbox and getting that check,” the famous chef added.
They were living in Sumner, Washington, and it was difficult for her family without her stepfather and with her addict mother.
She was two years old when they sent her to her grandmother, Lorraine Waldroop, to live with. Years later, her mother took the chef back into the terrible life conditions.
She was 11 when she started to be the mother for her siblings. She fed them and worked for the house chores. A terrible memory of her, when she was little, she was waiting at the grocery store with food stamps in her hand. One of her wealthy classmates saw her. “[…] It was mortifying for me,” famous chef said.
“I haven’t really had anything to do with her since I was 15. This isn’t something I ever really want to talk about.” Sandra Lee said when she talked about her mother. She is fond of her grandmother, who cared for her when she got the chance.
As she rose to fame through her chef skills, she started to make budget-friendly recipes on TV. She became a household name in the whole country.
“Blue Ribbon Baking Championship,” the latest adventure of Lee, a netflix competition, is giving $100,000 to the bakers all across the country.
Sadly, she had some bad things in her adult life too, where she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) back in 2015. The disease is non-invasive type of breast cancer.
“I want people to know that at any time during this process, we’re all beautiful.” Lee said after her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
Her split from Andrew Cuomo became a public event in 2019, which caused a storm in her life. “I was in my kitchen, and he said something, and the minute he said it, I knew what he’d just said. And every window and door closed. And that was it. He knows what it is; I know what it is,” Lee said.
She found love and peace with actor and producer Ben Youcef. They recently celebrated their third anniversary. When she talked about her anxiety and insecurity from her childhood, “I do it when I can,” the famous chef said.
“But I split my life very specifically — a third of my life is spent doing business, a third of my life is spent on family and my friends, and a third of my life is spent on my philanthropy, which is my passion.”
“I think what happens when you turn 50 is that you realize — if you’re lucky — you’re halfway through, if not more. Your body is changing and you have to pay attention to all those things.” Lee also said about her age.
“There’s a reason why we all like wash our face and put lotion on and put makeup on. I don’t think any of us are going down without a fight. […] Whatever makes you feel hot, do it!”
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