Who's Padma Lakshmi's Baby's Daddy?

By PopEater Staff Posted Feb 22nd 2010 12:15PM

'Top Chef' host Padma Lakshmi gave birth this weekend to a (most certainly gorgeous) baby girl named Krishna. And since her publicist told the New York Post, "Padma has no interest in sharing with the public the identity of the father," PopEater dwells in the shiny land of speculation. Who could it be? Her ex-husband Salman Rushdie (above, left)? Someone we've never heard of? A 'Top Chef' contestant? After the jump, our favorite nominees for baby Krishna's papa.

A Miracle of Science
It's hard to keep things under wraps in the world of show biz. Try as they might, all secret celebrity couples are outed eventually. Given the abundance of curious media unable to definitively identify a dad -- and the Us Weekly report that Padma's pregnancy was considered "a medical miracle" after her long struggle with endometriosis -- we're willing to entertain the possibility that Padma made this baby on her own. Well, not completely on her own; the new Baby Lakshmi is named after a Hindu god, but we're thinking more donor than deity.

It's a 'Top Chef' Baby
While there's absolutely nothing to suggest our inklings (see: dreams) that a 'Top Chef' contestant is the father of Padma's baby, the sheer awesomeness of the possibility makes us have to consider it. Padma -- the consummate flirt that she is -- hammed it up with cheftestants Brian Malarkey (top, right ... and happily married) and CJ Jacobsen while the two were competing on season three of the show. Brian and CJ gladly flirted back because, well, she's supermodel gorgeous. So, again ... no smoke and/or fire to this rumor, but the possibility of a 'Top Chef' spawn just melts our reality-loving hearts.

Dude, Padma Got a Dell
Page Six speculated that Adam Dell, the brother of billionaire computermeister Michael "Dude, You're Getting A..." Dell, could be the father. Adam is a venture capitalist, which makes us yawn and hope it's not him.

Rushdie Redux
Padma was married to British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie from 2004 to 2007. Rushdie's controversial work has led to numerous assassination mandates from Iranian spiritual leaders, leading us to posit this outlandish theory: Maybe Padma and Rushdie actually stayed together, but faked a divorce to ensure Padma's safety. This possibility involves mystery, action and intrigue. We like.

Cousins and Guys Named Teddy
"Rumors are swirling around that her rumored former boyfriend, the owner of the IMG talent agency Teddy Forstmann, could be the Indian-born TV chef's baby daddy," The Money Times reported in a story with no less than eight uses of the word "rumor." The story continued: "Recently, online rumors were rampant that a man named Manu Nathan is the father of Lakshmi's yet-to-be-born baby, but her rep had lashed out at those reports saying Manu is, in fact, Lakshmi's cousin." Compelling stuff.

Padre Lobo
Padma starred in the Eels music video for 'That Look You Give That Guy' in conjunction with the L.A. group's 2009 release 'Hombre Lobo.' The clip features Padma locking lips with Moses-bearded frontman E. Although the rumors were weak -- "The two have been spotted out together recently," Fancast said -- we can't help but hope life imitates art. (Music videos count as art, right...?) The chance of a downtrodden loner like E shacking up with a vixen like Padma gives us hope.

Tags: padma lakshmi, top chef

Comments

(12)

Monday 22 February

By kimmie

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The Top Chef rumor would be even better if it actually was CJ, given the fact that he only has one testicle. CJ would be THE MAN!

BTW - she's not a chef - she's a cookbook auther, actress and model.

By Reena

Padma calls herself a chef and I guess she kind of is because she actually wrote and cooked all of the recipes in her cookbooks. I don't know what constitutes as being a chef, do you have to own a restaurant or have a cooking show on t.v.? Maybe she's just a cook then??

By valeskas

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Its none of our business.

By skeeter319902

I don't understand why someone would want to keep mum on who the father of the child is! A proud dad would want to shout out from the rooftops on this news! Perhaps the father doesn't want to be part of the child's life which is sad.

By mPod

...or maybe she doesn't want her (possibly not-so-famous) baby daddy to face undue harassment from the media. Not such a far-fetched a concept, I'd say.

By mizusfish

And we care because?

By Rachel

Because the woman is a stupid whore who let some loser knock her up then abandon her. The man has a responsibility and shame on him for abandoning her and the stupid baby, and shame on her for letting the dead-beat get away with it. If she had half a brain in her skull she'd be hunting that loser down now and sue his ass for child support - then castrate him.

By moveover

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Who cares. This conceited heathen will soon lose her looks and so what.

By ZarathustraMike

I volunteer over and over again to be the daddy for baby # two!

By Emily

Maybe she doesn't know who the baby daddy is.

By VLC

The answer: "Who Cares?..." I am sure she is "only" trying to create drama and mystery around her. Most people in HOLLYWOOD crave that sort of thing - especially when you are "no one" special. So, I believe Ms. Padma is trying to create talk about her in a town that is hard to get noticed. She probably went to a fertility clinic. Because believe me, if the story was worth knowing, the PAPARAZZI would be ALL OVER IT! She is not worth the story line...

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