Every Single Thing You've Ever Wanted to Know About Ina Garten

From her down-to-earth demeanor and expert cooking tips to her reservoir of tasty chicken recipes (have you tried her engagement chicken?!), it's easy to see why Ina Garten has become one of the most famous names in the culinary industry. She showed millions of foodies (us included) that it's possible to cook well and have fun doing it, thanks to her popular Food Network program Barefoot Contessa. And of course, we can't forget about her best-selling cookbooks, from Modern Comfort Food to Go-To Dinners.

While discussing the success of her Emmy-winning cooking series, Garten told Inc.com, "I think people feel like they're just hanging out with me and I'm cooking for them...It's never about looking at me. I'm like, don't look at me. I'm just the opposite. It's funny, I have a friend who said, 'Everybody else is like, look at me, look at me, pay attention to me.' I'm like, 'Well, this is what I do. You can do whatever you want to do and I'm just having fun here.'"

Aside from teaching viewers the do's and dont's of cooking, Garten has also offered fans an intimate look at her personal life and shared a bit of wisdom in her recent memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. In fact, The New York Times best-seller has already garnered praise from critics—and something tells us this won't be the last book we see from the culinary genius. Keep reading for details on our favorite cook (and imaginary BFF).

• Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut
• Birthday: February 2, 1948
• Spouse: Jeffrey Garten
• Star Sign: Aquarius

Early Life & Rise to Fame

Ina Garten (born Ina Rosenberg) was born to Charles H. Rosenberg and Florence Rosenberg in Brooklyn, New York. She and her older brother, Ken, were raised in Stamford, Connecticut, and she became quite skilled at science from a young age. Garten has opened up about her mother encouraging her to focus on her studies, rather than helping out in the kitchen, which explains why, after high school, she went on to study economics at Syracuse University. After this, she attended the George Washington University School of Business.

"I think it's the reason why I'm a cook, because I was never allowed in the kitchen. That was my mother's purview. And she used to say, 'It's my job to cook, and it's your job to study.'"

Ina Garten

As for Garten's romantic life, she first crossed paths with her future husband, Jeffrey Garten, at 15 years old, when she traveled to Dartmouth College to visit her brother. At 20, she tied the knot with the economist—who you may have spotted on her show on a few occasions—and relocated to North Carolina. While chatting with CBS News in 2015, Garten described him as "really sweet, kind, funny, smart, supportive, just everything you could ever dream of."

Now, if you're wondering how the TV personality shifted to a career in food, it all began when she and her husband went on a four-month vacation in Europe. While in France, she developed a passion for French cuisine and began to work on her own culinary skills by studying the cookbooks of Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child.

Soon after their return to the U.S., Garten and her husband relocated to Washington, D.C., where she landed a White House job in nuclear energy policy for the Carter administration. During that time, she would also host weekly dinner parties, which allowed her to brush up on her home entertaining skills. It was then that she seriously considered switching to a career in food. And fortunately for her, she found the perfect opportunity to do just that.

In 1978, she left her bureaucratic job to purchase her first store, Barefoot Contessa, a specialty food shop in New York, even though she had no formal cooking training. She successfully ran the business for nearly 20 years, moving its location to East Hampton and expanding it to over seven times its original size. In 1996, she sold the store and turned her attention to cookbook writing.

On the store's 46th anniversary, she wrote on Instagram, “The original owner, Diana Stratta, and I worked 22-hour days the entire holiday. I remember telling Jeffrey this may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but it was also so exhilarating. (I guess it turned out okay?)”

Cookbooks & Best Recipes

After selling her store, Garten released her very first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, in 1999 and it became a huge hit, selling over 100,000 copies in the first year. This boosted the popularity of the store and prompted her to write 12 more incredible cookbooks—many of which have become best-sellers.

The author's specialty is French cuisine, but she occasionally creates American, Asian, British and Italian dishes as well. She's also known for making rich comfort foods and chicken recipes, but among her most popular are Perfect Roast Chicken, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Linguine with Shrimp Scampi and Coq Au Vin. As for her best desserts, her fan favorites include Beatty's Chocolate Cake and Shortbread Cookies.

To date, Garten has released a total of 14 books:

• The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (1999)
• Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes For Easy Parties That Are Really Fun (2001)
• Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family (2002)
• Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home (2004)
• Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again (2006)
• Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients (2008)
• Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That? (2010)
• Barefoot Contessa: Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust (2012)
• Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (2014)
• Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (2016)
• Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks (2018)
• Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (2020)
• Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (2022)
• Be Ready When the Luck Happens (2024)

In addition, she has three magazine columns, including "Entertaining is Fun!" for Martha Stewart Living (1999–present), "Entertaining" for O, The Oprah Magazine (2003–present) and "Ask the Barefoot Contessa" for House Beautiful (2006–present).

Barefoot Contessa on Food Network

After publishing a few cookbooks and making multiple appearances on Martha Stewart's show, Stewart's production company offered her an opportunity to host her own show in 2000, but it quickly fell through due to filming challenges. Fortunately, though, Food Network approached her and offered a more intimate and casual setup, and Garten agreed to do a 13-show season.

Barefoot Contessa finally premiered in 2002 and ran until 2021. In each episode, Garten walks viewers through how to prepare a variety of simple, multi-course meals, which she typically makes for friends and family. Each episode features Garten assembling dishes of varying complexity. She also incorporates a few handy tips and hacks for home decorating and entertaining.

In addition, Be My Guest—a heartwarming series where Garten invites her famous friends to dine with her and connect at her East Hampton home—debuted on Food Network in 2022. The series has included a few notable stars, like Jennifer Garner, Emily Blunt, Laura Linney, Stanley Tucci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Stephen Colbert.

Personal Life

Garten and Jeffrey have been married for nearly six decades, but believe it or not, they went through a rough patch and briefly separated during the '70s. In fact, the famous cook contemplated getting a divorce.

In her tell-all memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, she wrote, "It was the hardest thing I ever did. I told him that I needed to be on my own. I didn’t say whether it was for now or forever. In true Jeffrey form, he said, 'If you feel like you need to be on your own, you need to do it.' He packed his bag and went home to Washington with no plan to come back. I buried my emotions and threw myself into my work."

Garten communicated her concerns to Jeffrey, noting that she could no longer "live with him in a traditional 'man and wife' relationship." And thankfully, he was so determined to save the relationship that he went to therapy. Garten wrote, "Jeffrey’s willingness to see the therapist was as significant as anything that might happen during their session. He was that determined to convince me he was serious about making our marriage work."

Net Worth

Garten has an estimated net worth of $60 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Her wealth mainly comes from her best-selling cookbooks, her television show, her grocery line, Barefoot Contessa Pantry, and her real estate.

Fun fact: Even before she rose to fame, Garten earned extra cash by purchasing and flipping old homes. After using those earnings to buy her Barefoot Contessa shop, she sold the store (which has since closed down) and retained ownership of the property. To this day, she continues to rent the space out to tenants. Oh, and did we mention that she and her husband reside in a luxurious Park Avenue home that's worth $4.65 million?

Career Achievements & Awards

Ina Garten has earned a total of five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Culinary Host, thanks to her stellar work on Barefoot Contessa and Be My Guest. She also earned six additional Emmy nominations in the same category, and in 2021, Garten was featured on Forbes's 50 Over 50 list of the most successful entrepreneurs and businesswomen who are over the age of 50.