Chrissy Teigen

Teigen was born in Delta, Utah.[5] Her mother, Vilailuck, is from Thailand, while her father, Ron, is an American of Norwegian descent.[5][6] Her surname is usually pronounced /ˈtaɪɡən/; despite this, she stated that she prefers the pronunciation, /ˈtiːɡən/.[3] After she was born, Teigen and her family relocated to Snohomish, Washington, where her parents ran a tavern.[5] After her mother returned to Thailand when she was 15, her father relocated them to Huntington Beach, California. During this time, Teigen worked at a surf shop, where she landed a modeling campaign with clothing company Billabong through the shop's clients, and was discovered by a photographer.[5] In her early modeling career, Teigen lived in Miami "for four years, six months out of the year".[7]

Teigen was a briefcase model on the game show Deal or No Deal during the pilot and first season.[8] She appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2010, and was named "Rookie of the Year".[9] Her friend and fellow model Brooklyn Decker had introduced her to the people at Sports Illustrated to cast her.[10] The following year, she designed and debuted a capsule collection with swimwear designer DiNeila Brazil at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami as well as appeared as a featured character in the 2011 Electronic Arts video game Need For Speed: The Run.[11] She also filmed a Cooking Channel special titled Cookies and Cocktails.[12]

Teigen at the premiere of the film Battleship in Sydney, Australia in 2012

Two years later, she was the host of the competition series Model Employee on VH1.[13] She was also featured on another Cooking Channel special, titled Chrissy Teigen's Hungry, detailing her wedding menu tasting with then-fiancé, John Legend.[14] In October 2013, she appeared in Legend's music video for the song "All of Me", which also features footage from their wedding.[15] In April 2014, Teigen played a fictionalized version of herself as a relationship counselor in an Inside Amy Schumer sketch.[16] That same year, she appeared on the 50th anniversary cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue with Nina Agdal and Lily Aldridge.[17][18] In January 2015, Teigen guest starred on the sitcom The Mindy Project as the girlfriend of the man who took the main character's virginity.[19] In April, she became a co-host of the musical competition series Lip Sync Battle alongside LL Cool J.[20] Teigen co-hosted the 2015 Billboard Music Awards with Ludacris.[21]

From September 2015 until June 2016, she was a food stylist and panelist on Tyra Banks's syndicated daytime talk show, FABLife.[22] In February 2016, Teigen published a book titled Cravings: Recipes for All of the Food You Want to Eat, which went on to become a New York Times bestseller and the second-best selling cookbook of the year.[23][24] The following year, she released a clothing line in collaboration with the fashion company Revolve.[25] In September 2018, Teigen released her second book, titled Cravings: Hungry For More.[26] Simultaneously, she released a line of cookware through Target.[27]

The following year, Teigen appeared as a judge for the comedy competition series Bring the Funny.[28] In November, Teigen launched a cooking website, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, which features recipes as well as restaurant and entertaining tips.[29] Chrissy's Court, a courtroom-style series starring Teigen, debuted in April 2020 on Quibi. Teigen also served as executive producer for the series.[30]

Teigen at Families Belong Together March in 2019

Teigen identifies as a feminist and intends on raising her children as such.[31] Teigen made donations to nonprofit organization Planned Parenthood in 2015 following the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting and again in 2017.[32][33] She and her husband donated $25,000 to March for Our Lives, a rally against gun violence, in 2018.[34] A supporter of immigrants' rights, she delivered a speech at a Families Belong Together event in Los Angeles that same year.[35] In May 2020, Teigen donated $200,000 to bail and legal defense funds to aid activists arrested during protests in response to the killing of George Floyd.[36]

Teigen is a vocal critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump.[37] In June 2018, she donated $72,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization, to commemorate Trump's 72nd birthday.[38] Teigen and her husband endorsed Elizabeth Warren during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[39] The couple endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[40]

Teigen became engaged to singer John Legend in December 2011, after four years of dating.[41] The couple first met while filming his 2006 music video for the song "Stereo", in which she played his love interest.[42] They married in September 2013,[42] celebrating their wedding on September 14 in Como, Italy.[1] Legend's song "All of Me" was dedicated to her.[43] They reside in Beverly Hills, California.[5]

Teigen and Legend have two children: a daughter born in April 2016, and a son born in May 2018.[44][45] In 2020, the couple was expecting a third child,[46] but Teigen suffered a stillbirth in September.[47] As a result, Teigen has decided against becoming pregnant again.[48]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chrissy Teigen.

• Chrissy Teigen at Fashion Model Directory
• Chrissy Teigen at IMDb