Popularly known by her Barefoot Contessa moniker, Garten is a chef, author, TV host, and former White House nuclear energy analyst (who knew?).

Born Ina Rosenberg in Brooklyn, Garten was raised in Connecticut and attended Syracuse University. In 1978, she was unhappily working at the White House on nuclear energy policies and spotted an ad for a food store in a place she had never been: the Hamptons. She and her husband, Jeffrey, drove out to the store and made an offer on the spot. The store, Barefoot Contessa, eventually grew to a 3,000-square-foot specialty food store, which Garten sold in 1996. In 1999, Garten wrote her first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which explored the recipes she had used at the store. She has published a total of six cookbooks, all of which are modeled after coffee table books, rather than encyclopedias. In 2002, Garten made her Food Network debut, with her own show, Barefoot Contessa, which focuses on guest-oriented food: Garten often prepares food for her husband and gaggles of friends. Garten has won two Daytime Emmy Awards as host of the show and continues to show viewers what to prepare when groups of friends unexpectedly drop in.

Garten met her husband when she was 15 - the two were married five years later, in 1968. Jeffrey is a professor at Yale and often appears on her show, usually to enjoy some roast chicken. The duo split their time between East Hampton, Southport, Connecticut, and Paris. [Image via AP]