Ina Garten Biography

Fast Facts

• Once sat on the Design Review Board for East Hampton, New York, a group that seeks to protect the historical integrity of the centuries-old district
• Majored in economics at Syracuse University and later earned her MBA from Georgetown University
• Learned how to cook after marrying in 1968 and moving to North Carolina, as she used to host dinner parties to make new friends while her husband served in Vietnam
• Quote: "I was sitting at my desk in Washington trying to figure out what I was going to do when I grew up․"
• Quote: "Every household needs somebody who cooks, and somebody else who really appreciates it․"
• Began to gain considerable notice after releasing her first cookbook in 1999, titled The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which was one of the year's best-selling releases
• Citing the stress of her political job, she quit in 1978 and opened a 400-sqft specialty food store in Westhampton Beach, New York, named Barefoot Contessa
• Launched her television career with "The Barefoot Contessa" in 2002 on the Food Network after several successful appearances on other programs hosted by friends such as Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse
• Claims she took the nickname Barefoot Contessa from a 1954 film of the same name starring Humphrey Bogart
• Prior to launching her professional cooking career, she worked as a budget analyst for the White House under Presidents Ford and Carter