Padma Lakshmi Is Entering Stand-Up Comedy

Padma Lakshmi is cooking up some jokes.

The Top Chef alum, 55, and her daughter Krishna, 15, revealed how they support each other’s ventures in Vogue India’s September-October 2025 issue.

The cover stars, whose issue is on stands now, divulged their creative passions (stand-up comedy for the cookbook author and acting for the high school sophomore) and how the mother-daughter-duo are helping each other succeed.

“Our relationship with each other is the biggest part of our lives,” Krishna, whose father is businessman Adam Dell, said. “But so much of our bond comes from us being in sync creatively.”

The celebrity chef, who left her 17-year stint hosting Top Chef in 2023, is trying her hand at stand-up comedy, according to the cover story. But, not without the help of her aspiring actress daughter.

Padma said, “She’s always telling me, ‘Mom, just use me in your stand-up. I give you permission.’”

Padma’s path to comedy is not a surprise. Earlier this year, the star put on her second comedy show to benefit The National Network of Abortion Funds (aptly called “Padma Puts On a Comedy Show”). Padma also revealed in a 2024 New Yorker profile that she was working with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig to sell a scripted comedy series.

Of course, Padma is continuing her culinary career, her new cookbook Padma’s All American is out Nov. 4, and Krishna keeps her company in the kitchen, too, whether it be filmed on TikTok or published in her latest book.

Padma told PEOPLE earlier this summer of Krishna’s recipe inclusion, “I’m trying to show how recipes evolve, and so that’s how her recipe came about.”

When it comes to Krishna’s musical and theatrical goals, Padma lends a hand by supporting her daughter’s dreams.

According to the Vogue India interview, Padma “allowed” the performing arts high school student to audition professionally this year and helps her daughter run lines for school plays. Of working with Krishna, Padma said, “Five years from now, she will have her whole own life. So I just want to make sure she has a well-rounded understanding of what her craft is and what being an artist means.”

Each step is all part of Krishna’s lifelong plan, she said. “This has been my plan since I was three. First this school, then Juilliard,” the teenager explained.