It all began when the CBS station in Albany-Schenectady, WRGB- TV, discovered Rachael and signed her on to do a weekly 30-Minute Meals segment for the evening news. Nominated for two regional Emmys in its first year, the segment was a major success; a companion cookbook sold 10,000 copies locally during the holidays. With that, a franchise was born!

Credited with getting America back in the kitchen with her easy approach to cooking, Rachael’s hugely successful syndicated daytime program, Rachael Ray, launched in the fall of 2006. According to Rachael, she grew up in food. And she has parlayed that birthright into a wildly successful career as a syndicated television star, an iconic Food Network television personality, bestselling cookbook author, Founder and Editorial Director of her own lifestyle magazine, Rachael Ray Every Day, and Founder of the Yum-o! organization.

Rachael's television work grew to include a series of lifestyle and travel segments, as well as a long-term relationship with the Food Network, hosting shows such as Rachael Vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, Rachael Vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off, Worst Cooks in America, and 30-Minute Meals.

In addition to her television endeavors, Rachael has turned her 30-Minute Meals concept into a bestselling series of cookbooks. Taking the can-do spirit of her television shows and books, Rachael launched a new lifestyle magazine in 2005 bearing her vision now called Rachael Ray Every Day.

Hometown: Queensbury, New York