old. After she told her mother and stepfather about his assault, they sent her to live with her grandparents for a year. She wrote, "The lesson was: If you speak up, you will be cast out." She said, "I am speaking now because I want us all to fight so that our daughters never know this fear and shame and our sons know that girls’ bodies do not exist for their pleasure and that abuse has grave consequences." Education Lakshmi graduated from William Workman High School in City of Industry, California, in 1988. Lakshmi attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in theater arts and American literature in 1992. She also began her modeling career as an exchange student in Madrid, Spain. Career Modeling In effect, Lakshmi began her modeling career at age 21, when a modeling agent discovered Lakshmi while she studied abroad in Madrid. She has said, "I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan, and New York. I'm the first one to admit that I was a novelty." Lakshmi was able to pay off her college loans by working as a model and actress. She has modeled for designers such as Emanuel Ungaro, Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti and appeared in ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus. She was a favorite model of the photographer Helmut Newton, whose photographs of her often highlighted the large scar on her right arm. Lakshmi has appeared on the covers of Redbook, Vogue India, FHM, Cosmopolitan, L'Officiel India, Asian Woman, Elle, Avenue, Industry Magazine, Marie Claire (India Edition), Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country, and Newsweek. She also posed nude for the May 2009 issue of Allure. She has done shoots for photographers Mario Testino and Helmut Newton. Film, television, and hosting Lakshmi is the current host and one of the judges on the television show Top Chef. The show has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program from season 2 through season 19, with season 6 winning the award in 2010. She also serves as an executive producer of the show. Lakshmi was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program in 2009 and in 2020 through 2022 for Top Chef. In 2020, Lakshmi won three Critic's Choice Awards for Top Chef. Lakshmi is also the