Rachael Ray was born into a family of cooking. One of her first memories is trying to copy her mother flip something and grilling her right thumb when she was three or four. An Albany TV station asked her to do a weekly "30 Minute Meals" segment for the evening news. The segment was very popular, it was nominated for two local Emmys and the companion cookbook sold 10,000 copies locally. Her television work grew to include a series of travel segments following the theme of living a rich life without being wealthy. Today, Rachael's work continues on the Food Network's $40 a Day & 30 Minute Meals.

Rachael has a successful series of cookbooks, including Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals, The Open House Cookbook, Comfort Foods, and Veggie Meals. Despite her growing celebrity, she's determined to keep her roots. She lives in a cabin in the Adirondacks with her pit bull, Boo, who "eats the mistakes."