Giada De Laurentiiscringes at her early Food Network stardom, but not at what it gave her.
"I think I just wasn't open enough; I wasn't secure enough," she told PEOPLE of her earliest episodes of Everyday Italian. "Italian culture and Italian food were such a part of my every day that I didn't realize other people wouldn't understand certain things. Everybody cooks their pasta al dente, don't they?"
She clearly gained her footing pretty quickly and went on to become one of the network's biggest stars for nearly two decades before announcing her move to Amazon Studios in February 2023. Find outGiada De Laurentiis' net worth in 2023 and how she made it.
Related: Giada De Laurentiis' Best Recipes of All Time
How didGiada De Laurentiis become famous?
Giada De Laurentiis has been in and around the entertainment industry since birth: She's the daughter of Italian actress Veronica De Laurentiis and Italian actor-producer Alex De Benedetti and the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis. After her parents divorced Giada and her siblings moved to Los Angeles with their mother and took her last name.
Giada explained to Time in 2006 that while she was exposed to show business at a young age through her family, it wasn't the cameras and stars that interested her—it was craft services.
"I went to the set, which was a movie my grandfather was producing with my aunt," she recalled. "She moved me everywhere, from costume design to set design, and nothing clicked for me. I hated it. Nothing about it made me want to get up and work except for the catering truck. It was interesting for me to see how they did so much from such a little truck."
Giada studied anthropology at UCLA, trained at Le Cordon Bleu and became a pastry chef, then worked in several restaurants in Los Angeles, includingWolfgang Puck'sSpago. She started her own catering company in Los Angeles called GDL Foods, but it wasn't until she was featured in Food & Wine magazine that she was discovered by Food Network. Her TV career began in 2002 withEveryday Italian. She quickly became a household name and would eventually win an Emmy for the show.
Related: How Giada De Laurentiis Makes Time for Self Care
What isGiada De Laurentiis' net worth in 2023?
Giada De Laurentiis' net worth in 2023 is estimated at a cool $30 million.
How does Giada make her money?
The bulk of Giada De Laurentiis' net worth is thanks to her time on Food Network. After so many years on the network she has celebrity chef status and a massive following. That culinary clout helped her move beyond TV. Her other ventures include restaurants,10 cookbooks, a children's book series, a Clairol Natural Instincts hair dye endorsem*nt, her own pasta brand, a popcorn brand,a cookware line at Target, a Sunbrella brand dealandGiadzy, an online space where she shares recipes and sells a wide array of hand-selected Italian ingredients and other products.
De Laurentiis told Forbes that she scaled her work back once she became a mom to her daughter, Jade. "I wish I had known that it’s okay to say 'no' sometimes," she admitted. "It can be so tempting to say 'yes' to everything when you're starting out and unsure if another great opportunity will ever come along, but learning how to say 'no' is a valuable skill and one I have only recently developed. When you say 'yes' to everything and everyone, you think you’re being smart and successful, but you end up stretching yourself too thin and you are too tired to do your best work."
De Laurentiis has since left the Food Network for a new contract with Amazon Studios.
Related: Giada De Laurentiis' Orzo Salad Recipe
How much does Giada De Laurentiis make from Food Network?
Not much anymore! De Laurentiis ended her contract with Food Network in February 2023. Her annual salary and overall income from the Food Network aren't publicly known. After nearly 20 years on the Food Network, De Laurentiis likely made at least $1 million per year from the network at her peak based on her estimated 2023 net worth.
De Laurentiis has hosted or appeared in the following for the Food Network through the years:
Everyday Italian
Behind the Bash
Giada's Weekend Getaways
Giada In Paradise
Giada At Home
Giada Entertains
Giada In Italy
Giada On the Beach
Winner Cake All
Giada's Holiday Handbook
Bobby and Giada In Italy
Simply Giada
Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge
Holiday Kitchen Takeover
Iron Chef America
The Great American Foodathon
Food Network Thanksgiving
Food Network Star
How much does Giada De Laurentiis make from her show?
De Laurentiis has been good about keeping her contract details under wraps! Because of that, we don't know specifically how much she's made from her TV shows through the years.
Related: Giada De Laurentiis' White Pesto Recipe
How much does Giada De Laurentiis make a year?
De Laurentiis' annual salary has been estimated at $8 million, but this sum hasn't actually been substantiated anywhere, so take it with a grain of salt...or a slice of prosciutto.
How much did Giada De Laurentiis make from her restaurant?
It's unknown how much De Laurentiis has made from her eateries, but she currently has two restaurants.
She opened Giada at The Cromwell on the Las Vegas Strip in 2014, and its success spawned a second Las Vegas restaurant, the fast-casual Pronto By Giada, in Caesar's Palace, which opened in 2018.
De Laurentiis had a third restaurant, GDL Italian by Giada, located in the Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, which opened in May 2018. Unfortunately, her third eatery was one of the many business casualties of the COVID-19 crisis, and is permanently closed.
