Sultry pictures: 10 times Salman Rushdie's 4th wife Padma Lakshmi sizzled in sexy bikinis

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, the fourth wife of Salman Rushdie, is a renowned actress, model and writer. The Indian-born celebrity's marriage to the famous author proved the most controversial when, like the others, it ended in divorce. 

Here's all you need to know about Padma Lakshmi; we also take a look at some of her sultry pictures in bikinis that brings out her bold demeanour:

Padma Lakshmi has appeared in films and television shows in the United States and Europe. The Indian-origin celebrity earned a bachelor's degree in theatre arts and American literature from Clark University before entering the entertainment industry.

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Padma Lakshmi began her career in the entertainment world more on the modelling and acting side, but she is now more known for her work as a host on numerous cooking-related shows.

In "Padma's Passport," one of Padma Lakshmi's earliest cooking programmes, she prepared dishes from around the world. She also co-hosted "Domenica In" and appeared in the documentary series "Planet Food."

Later in her career, Padma Lakshmi began producing and hosting the reality cooking competition "Top Chef." Lakshmi also created her own Hulu cooking show, "Taste of the Nation", which started in 2021. 

Beyond all of her television programmes, Padma Lakshmi has also translated her passion for food into books with the publication of her memoir "Love, Loss, and What We Ate," as well as her cookbooks "Easy Exotic" and "Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet." Her children's books "Tomatoes for Neela" and "The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs" were also published.

Padma Lakshmi was married to author Salman Rushdie. They started dating in 1999 and married in 2004, but divorced in 2007. Lakshmi, 23 years younger than him, wrote an excoriating account of their eight-year relationship. She painted him as a spoiled, insecure child who needed constant adoration, food, and care—not to mention "frequent sex."

At a glitzy New York City gala hosted by media heiress Tina Brown in 1999, the two first met. Padma Lakshmi claims that Rushdie vowed to be with her after his troubled marriage to his third wife ended and that the two had an affair. Fury, a Rushdie book published in 2001, was dedicated to Lakshmi. Rushdie was 51, and Lakshmi was 28 at the time of their nuptials.

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Padma Lakshmi began dating Adam Dell, the brother of Michael Dell, the inventor of Dell computers, in 2009 after divorce. However, the two have since broken up. Although she claimed to be unmarried on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," she was linked to poet Terrance Hayes in 2021.

Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell, Padma's only child, was born in 2010. She had a daughter with her ex-boyfriend Dell. However, she was unaware that he was the father at the time, leading many individuals to make their inquiries into the matter.

Since 2006, Lakshmi has hosted the television programme "Top Chef." She joined the cast in its second season and has stayed with the Bravo programme ever since. She was also spotted just a couple of hours after Rushdie was stabbed on Friday (August 12) by a suspect identified by police as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, who bought a pass to the event.

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