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Paula Ann Hiers Deen (born January 19, 1947) is an American chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant and Paula Deen's Creek House with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. She has published fifteen cookbooks. Early life Deen was born Paula Ann Hiers in Albany, Georgia, the daughter of Corrie A. Hiers (née Paul) and Earl Wayne Hiers, Sr. Deen was 19 when her father died unexpectedly aged 40, and her mother died four years later aged 44. Prior to her father's death, Paula, aged 18, married Jimmy Deen and in 1967 they had their first son James ("Jamie"), and in 1970 a second son Robert ("Bobby") was born. In her 20s, Deen suffered from depression and agoraphobia and began to spend more time preparing food for her family, as it was something she could do without leaving her house. Deen's cooking style had been informed by her grandmother Irene Paul, who had taught her the art of Southern cooking that Deen described as “real farmhouse cooking, the kind that takes all day”. In 1989, Deen and her husband Jimmy divorced. Needing to support herself, her two sons, and her younger brother Earl ("Bubba"), Deen tried various enterprises before starting a catering service that she called The Bag Lady, making lunches for office workers, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered. Restaurants Following the success of Deen's home–based business she took over the restaurant in the Best Western, Abercorn Street, Savannah in 1991 and called it The Lady. In January 1996, after five years at the Best Western, Deen, together with her sons Jamie and Bobby, opened their own restaurant, The Lady & Sons, in downtown Savannah, on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to the old White Hardware building on Whitaker. Deen also opened four casino buffets; they were at Harrah's Casino Tunica in Mississippi, Harrah's Cherokee casino in North Carolina, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, and Harrah's Joliet in Illinois. They were rebranded in 2013 shortly after Deen was removed from the Food Network. In addition to these, Deen co-owned Uncle Bubba's Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia. The restaurant closed in April 2014 and reopened in June 2017 as Paula Deen's Creek House. In 2015, Deen opened Paula Deen's Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and in June 2017, opened another in the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at Broadway at the Beach. In 2018, Deen opened two Paula Deen restaurants in Texas, but both closed the following year. In 2020, Deen opened a Paula Deen's Family Kitchen in Nashville, Tennessee, and in 2021, another in Panama City Beach. Books and magazines In 1997, Deen self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady & Sons, Too! A Whole New Batch of Recipes from Savannah . Both cookbooks featured traditional Southern recipes. She has since published two more, written with Martha Nesbit. Deen has appeared on QVC and on The Oprah Winfrey Show (first in 2002, twice in 2007 and once in 2010). Her life story is featured in Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007, Sourcebooks). In April 2007, Simon & Schuster published Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About the Cookin'. She launched a lifestyle magazine called Cooking with Paula Deen in November 2005, which claimed a circulation of 7.5 million in March 2009. As of 2021, the magazine is still being published monthly. In 2015, Paula Deen Ventures signed a distribution agreement with Hachette Client Services for future cookbooks. In 2019, Deen released her latest cookbook, Paula Deen's Southern Baking. Food Network and other television Deen's relationship with Food Network began in 1999, when a friend introduced her to Gordon Elliott. Elliott took her through the city for a series of Doorknock Dinners episodes. Deen was invited to shoot a pilot named Afternoon Tea in early 2001. The network liked it, and eventually gave Deen her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, which premiered in November 2002. Paula's Home Cooking was originally taped in Millbrook, New York at Elliott's home, and later, recorded at Deen's own home in Savannah, Georgia. Deen presented two more Food Network shows, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes. Paula's Party premiered on the Food Network in 2006 and Paula's Best Dishes debuted in June 2008. A televised biography of Deen was aired as an episode of the Food Network's Chefography program, in March 2006. On June 21, 2013, due to a controversy regarding Deen's admission that she had used racial slurs in a social media post, The Food Network announced they would not renew her contract. In March 2015, Deen launched the Paula Deen Channel on Roku. In September 2015, Deen was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Louis van Amstel. The couple was eliminated in the sixth week of competition, finishing in 9th place overall. In October 2016, Deen launched a syndicated television show, Positively Paula. Deen also appears on the home shopping network ShopHQ selling a variety of merchandise including kitchen appliances and food products. On April 7, 2021, it was announced that Paula Deen is set to join Masterchef as a guest host for the 11th season premiering in June 2021. Deen, along with other well–known cooks, such as Emeril Lagasse, will join Gordon Ramsay to mentor 15 home cooks through a series of challenges. Personal life In 2004, Deen married Michael Groover (born 1956), a tugboat captain in the Port of Savannah, Georgia. Deen has two children from a previous marriage, as does Groover. The wedding was featured in a Food Network show in 2004 and took place at Bethesda Academy in Savannah. Paula is a supporter of Bethesda Academy, and asked Old Savannah Tours to donate $1 to the organization for each ticket purchased for the Paula Deen Store ticket sale. Other work Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown (2005), starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. She played the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking was featured. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere. Awards and honors In June 2007, Deen won a Daytime Emmy Award (Outstanding Lifestyle Host) for Paula's Home Cooking. In October 2010, she was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and presided over the 2011 Rose Parade before the Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2011. Criticisms Use of sugar in recipes Deen was criticized for her use of sugar by Christina Pirello, a "natural food" advocate and television chef. Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set, a cookbook aimed at children, was criticized by Barbara Walters, who said of the book, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to.... Discover the Christina Pirello popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Christina Pirello books.