Padma Lakshmi Used to Go By a Very Different Name
The Top Chef host's past name change sounds like "an obscure perfume" to James Corden.
We think Padma Lakshmi has one of the most beautiful names around, and James Corden agrees. But there was a time when the Top Chef host and judge wasn't so fond of her moniker.
Padma revealed on The Late Late Show with James Corden on Tuesday that she briefly changed her name to Angelique when she was in high school. "Oh my God, it's so embarrassing now," Padma admitted. "Now, I'm not sure why I did that."
Corden guessed that Padma changed her name because she "wanted to sound like an obscure perfume," which she couldn't exactly argue with. But then Padma explained the real unfortunate reason she felt like she would be better off with a different name. "I wanted an exotic name, but I think not too exotic. And I got tired of telling people how to say my name, even though it's spelled pretty phonetically, right? Even people who saw me regularly, weekly, at the gym or something, would call me, 'Pamda,' 'Panda,' 'Padboo,' just all these names," she said. "So I just decided I was going to a new school, and I decided to do it."
Well, we all know Padma's name now, don't we?
We'll catch up more with Padma when she announces the winner of Top Chef Season 15 in the grand finale on Thursday at 9/8c. Check out a sneak peek, below.
