Here’s the lowdown on the woman who broke Salman Rushdie’s heart
Padma as a kid
She grew up shuttling between her grandparents’ home in Madras and her mother’s in Manhattan…all the while dreaming of bagging a magazine cover. “I used to spend hours in front of the mirror when I was little. I wanted to be a model when I was 17, but my mother said I’d still be beautiful when I am 21 after I graduate.”
Today, Padma Parvati Lakshmi can safely count herself among the top internationally known Indian models. Not only has she appeared on ‘Vogue’, she has also modelled for A-list designers like Ralph Lauren and Alberta Ferretti, besides ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus. She also hosts ‘Padma’s Passport’ on the food network based on her popular cookbook ‘Easy Exotic: A Model’s Low-fat Recipes From Around The World’.
The accident that changed her life
Padma met with a dreadful accident during her teen years which left a 7-inch scar on her right arm. In a profession like hers, you’d expect it to be a roadblock, but her most famous picture was clicked by Mario Testino — among a load of lobsters, showing off her scar!
Salman and her
Her own profession notwithstanding, Padma’s celebrity status picked up only after she started dating controversial writer Salman Rushdie (who she married in 2004). “The greatest thing about being with Salman is that he’s very funny, and that’s extremely attractive in a person,” she had told After Hours in an earlier interview. That’s history now.
