Strong Is Beautiful - Into The World Of Padma Lakshmi

Author, former model, television host, mother- of-one…Padma Lakshmi is described in many ways. But it’s her latest role, as a socio-political force, that makes her most compelling. Nick Remsen talks to Lakshmi about raising her voice and raising the next generation

- Nick Remsen

Not long ago, the Chennai-born multi-hyphenate talent Padma Lakshmi appeared on The Today Show, a popular morning television programme in the United States.

She spoke at ease and candidly about not necessarily finding her voice as she’s matured but rather raising it to a new decibel level: Lakshmi has become a sociopolitical force in the US, speaking for women’s and immigration rights as an ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union, establishing the Endometriosis Foundation of America (a condition from which she suffered), and shining a spotlight on a problem that is, distressingly, all too common: sexual assault. Earlier, in 2018, Lakshmi wrote a powerful and galvanising op-ed piece for the New York Times, stating that she had been raped over 30 years prior. Her decision to come forward with the disclosure was due to assault accusations surrounding the American judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was ultimately elected to the Supreme Court despite a tumultuously divided public opinion. She surmised her expanded influence candidly and eloquently during her introduction on Today: “Honestly, [before] I wouldn’t have said that I’m a very political person. But when you get older, you have a power you didn’t have when you were young.” In real time and in front of an audience of millions, this woman, a model—whose big break came when she caught the eye of the photographer Helmut Newton— turned actor, author, TV host and activist, voiced in that phrase just how comfortable she now feels in her own skin.