Paula Deen (born Paula Ann Hiers on January 19, 1947) is an American cook, restaurateur, and Emmy Award-winning television personality.
Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns The Lady & Sons restaurant and runs it with her sons, Jamie and Bobby. She has also published five cookbooks. On her television shows and in her books and appearances, she uses the surname Deen from her first marriage.
Born in Albany, Georgia. As documented in the Food Network special Chefography and Paula Deen's Official Website, both her parents died by the time she was 23, and her husband decided to move away. Deen had agoraphobia and would not leave her house. She was a proficient Southern cook, a talent she used to help her deal with her condition. In 1986, she felt well enough to take a job as a bank teller. After the family moved to Savannah in 1989, she divorced her husband and expanded her cooking experience into a catering service. She made sandwiches and other meals, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered.
The Bag Lady (as the business was named) was successful, and soon outgrew her kitchen. On January 8, 1996, she opened her own restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in downtown Savannah on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to a larger building in Savannah's historic district. USA Today named The Lady and Sons the "International Meal of the Year" in 1999. The specialty is the buffet, which may include sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fried twinkies, fried chicken, cheesy meatloaf, greens, beans, and creamed corn. Every meal comes with a garlic cheese biscuit and one of Deen's famous hoecakes. The restaurant is run by her sons when they are in town.
In 1997, Deen self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking 2. The cookbooks were each filled with traditional Southern recipes, such as Gooey Butter Cake (also known as Chess Cake, a variation of a chess pie recipe). The cookbooks were very successful, and she has since published two more. Deen has appeared on QVC and on The Oprah Winfrey Show (first in 2002 and then twice in 2007). Her story is featured in Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007, Sourcebooks). Her latest book is "Paula Deen It Ain't All About the Cookin'" which is a memoir by Paula with Sherry Suib Cohen (2007) And her bestfriend was Erin in oklahoma.
Deen's relationship with Food Network began in 1999, when a friend (Erin Lewis) introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who introduced her to her agent, Barry Weiner. Elliott took her through the city for a series of Doorknock Dinners episodes. She also appeared on Ready, Set, Cook! Deen was invited to shoot a pilot named Afternoon Tea in early 2001. The network liked it, but didn't yet have a place for her. The network eventually gave Deen her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, which premiered in November 2002.. In 2007, Deen wrote her memoir with co-author Sherry Suib Cohen and it was published by Simon and Schuster. It Ain't All About The Cookin', became an instant New York Times bestseller.
Deen remarried on March 6, 2004, to Michael Groover, a tugboat pilot in the port of Savannah. Michael has two children, Michelle and Anthony, from a previous marriage. The wedding and preparation were documented by Food Network, and aired in 2004.
Deen has one grandchild, Jack, who was born August 21, 2006 to Jamie and Brooke Deen.
In April 2007, Simon & Schuster published Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About the Cookin'.
In her 20s, Deen suffered from panic attacks related to agoraphobia, eventually becoming virtually housebound. She overcame the illness without therapy.
Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. She plays the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking is showcased heavily. The film premiered on October 8, 2005. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere.
Deen launched a lifestyle magazine called Cooking with Paula Deen in November 2005.
Paula's Home Cooking was originally taped in Millbrook, New York at the home of Gordon Elliott, the show's executive producer. Deen mentioned in an interview aired on the March 13, 2006, edition of The Daily Buzz that the next batch of episodes of her show would be taped at her home in Savannah, Georgia. According to the first of those episodes, actual production at her new Savannah home began in November 2005.
A televised biography of Deen was aired on an episode of the Food Network's Chefography program in March 2006.
Deen's most recent series, Paula's Party, premiered on the Food Network in 2006.
In December 2007, Deen teamed with Cat Cora and faced Chefs Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine in battle Sugar on the holiday special of Iron Chef America. Deen and Cora won.
Her new show, Paula's Best Dishes, debuts on Food Network on June 8, 2008.
In May 2008, Deen announced at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show that she signed a deal to host a talk show beginning in September 2009.
Deen has also appeared in public service announcements for Civitan International.
In June 2007, Deen won two Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lifestyle Host and Outstanding Lifestyle Program) for Paula's Home Cooking.
