Entertainment
Where Is Paula Deen Now? Inside the Celebrity Chef’s Life After Food Network
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NEED TO KNOW
- It has been over a decade since Paula Deen’s Food Network show came to an end in 2013
- The “Queen of Southern Cuisine” has released more cookbooks and recipes since then
- In July 2025, Deen announced the abrupt closure of two of her restaurants, including her flagship eatery, The Lady & Sons
Paula Deen‘s career has had moments of success and controversy.
For more than a decade in the early 2000s, the Georgia native was a staple on television, starring in her own cooking shows, releasing cookbooks and establishing restaurants. But in June 2013, Food Network dropped Dean after she admitted to using a racial slur in the workplace in a sworn deposition, according to The New York Times.
Since then, Deen has largely stayed out of the spotlight. More recently, though, Deen made headlines again when she announced the abrupt closure of two of her restaurants on Aug. 1.
“Hey, y’all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box,” she wrote in a statement posted on her Facebook and official website. “Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years.”
That same month, on Aug. 20, Deen gave Fox & Friends’ Steve Doocy a tour of her home in Savannah, Ga.
So what happened to Paula Deen? Here’s everything to know about her culinary career and what she’s doing today, years after parting ways with Food Network.
She started her professional culinary career in 1989
Paula Deen/Facebook
In June 1989, Deen started a catering company from her kitchen. She opened The Bag Lady catering company with her “last $200,” according to a June 2025 Facebook post. Deen helped get her business off the ground with the help of her sons, Jamie and Bobby, who would deliver her homemade Southern food to workers in Savannah.
Two years later, in 1991, she opened a buffet restaurant, The Lady, in the lobby of a Best Western Hotel, the Chicago Tribune reported. Deen dedicated herself to the location — alongside her kids and her husband, Michael — until her next venture put her on the map.
In January 1996, the chef launched The Lady & Sons in downtown Savannah, eventually becoming a popular establishment and leading to TV superstardom.
She landed her first show on the Food Network in 2002
Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Deen released her first cookbook, The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook, in April 1998.
According to her official website, Deen then made her television debut on QVC, and in 2002, she starred in her own Food Network show, Paula’s Home Cooking. The cooking TV program ran for 10 years, ending in 2012.
In addition to Paula’s Home Cooking, she starred in Paula’s Party and Paula’s Best Dishes, both of which aired on the Food Network.
She left TV in 2013 after admitting to using racist language in the past
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty
Paula’s Home Cooking was a staple on the Food Network for a decade, but the channel cut ties with her amid controversy.
In 2012, Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, were sued by former employee Lisa Jackson for $1.2 million, per CBS News. Lisa previously worked at Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, an establishment co-owned by Deen and run by Hiers. According to the ex-employee, during her five years as a manager, she experienced sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
The following year, in May 2013, Deen admitted during a deposition that she used a racial slur on a few occasions in the past, CBS News reported. Shortly after, the Food Network announced that it wouldn’t renew the celebrity chef’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of June. In addition, retailers like Walmart and Target stated they would no longer sell Deen’s products and a book deal was scrapped.
As the fallout continued, Deen was scheduled to do a sit-down interview on the Today show, but was a no-show, per CBS News. Instead, she released two apology videos online.
“I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done,” she said in one of the clips, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I want to learn and grow from this. … Inappropriate hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable. I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I’ve made.”
Following the Food Network’s decision not to renew her contract, Deen released a statement to PEOPLE.
“I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories,” it read. “This would not have been possible without the Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of ya’ll.”
In August 2013, a settlement was reached, though its details weren’t made public, according to ABC News.
She went on to compete on Dancing with the Stars in 2015
Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
While Deen’s tenure on the Food Network was over, her time on television was not.
In June 2014, she embarked on a live tour called Paula Deen Live!, which consisted of 20 shows across the U.S., per the Las Vegas Sun News. Each stop was set to feature a 90-minute session with the celebrity chef who advertised cooking demos, interactive audience games and personal stories.
The following year, Deen competed on season 21 of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered in September 2015.
“Let me tell you—I’m excited and nervous,” she wrote on her website, about appearing on the competition series. “There’s just a whole array of emotions that could overwhelm a person. After all, I’m 68 and startin’ on this physically demanding show.”
In October 2015, Deen was eliminated during the sixth week of the season, but she stayed busy. Earlier that same year, she launched a mobile game and a line of dog food. Deen later released several other products as part of an online shop, including seasonings and jewelry.
She is still releasing cookbooks and sharing recipes online
Tara Ziemba/Getty
In the years since she said goodbye to her Food Network audience, Deen has continued to release cookbooks, her most recent being 2023’s Love and Best Dishes. Her magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen, is still being published today as well; its first issue hit newsstands in 2005.
As for television, Deen debuted her show, Positively Paula, in 2016. It aired for two seasons and a total of 26 episodes. In June 2020, she launched her YouTube channel, where she posts new videos daily to nearly 600,000 subscribers.
She announced the closure of two restaurants in August 2025
James Quine/Alamy Stock Photo; Mediapunch/Shutterstock
On Aug. 1, Deen announced the abrupt closing of two of her eateries, The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box.
“We have endless love and gratitude for every customer who has walked through our doors,” she wrote in a statement posted online. “We are equally grateful to our incredible staff — past and present — whose hard work, care, and hospitality made The Lady & Sons what it was. Savannah will always be our home, and we’ll always be here to support our wonderful community.”
The letter ended with Deen and her sons saying they “will now focus” their attention on the four remaining locations of Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen: Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Nashville, Tenn. and Branson, Mo.
“We’re excited to continue visiting these restaurants regularly, starting with Branson on August 8th,” the statement concluded. A reason for the closing of The Chicken Box and The Lady & Sons was not given.
Deen will appear in the documentary Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, which will revisit the fallout of her career in 2013. The project will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6.
Entertainment
Daveigh Chase’s mom breaks silence on actress’ death

Daveigh Chase’s mother, Cathy Chase, revealed her stunned reaction to her daughter’s death in an emotional new interview.
“I was devastated. It felt like something inside of me squeezing all of the air out of me, and at the same time, It felt like I was exploding outwardly,” she told the Daily Mail in comments published on Friday.
She told the outlet that after hearing about her daughter’s death on Tuesday at age 35, she was in disbelief.
“I let out this guttural scream and I just was running,” she recalled. “And these weird sounds were coming out of me, these kind of, like, primeval sounds.”
“And I went out into the backyard, and I was screaming, “No, no, no, no!” I am in so much pain but I hope her soul heard me,” she said.
Cathy told the outlet that on Tuesday evening — the day before news of the “Lilo & Stitch” star’s death emerged — she’d been searching online forums for clues of where her “sunshine” daughter might be, something she’s done on a nightly basis.
“The Ring” actress and her mother had not seen each other since 2019. Cathy, who lives in Los Angeles, told the outlet that she’d frequently check the LA County Medical Examiner’s system for her daughter’s name, as well.
“I would look at their list of unidentified bodies,” Cathy divulged. “It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother.”
When TMZ broke the news that the “Spirited Away” voice actress — who had reportedly been living near Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row — had died after battling meningitis and a blood infection leading to sepsis, Cathy confessed she thought it was “fake news.”
“But then all of a sudden, it’s all of these different legitimate sites had her name and I realized that it wasn’t fake,” she shared.
The grieving mother identified her daughter’s body on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, and prayed with a chaplain while “touching the glass” because it was “as close as we could get.”
“It was a beautiful experience, and, and I feel very blessed, too, have been able to share that with my daughter.”
Cathy told the outlet that her daughter’s problems began in 2016, when she was injured in a motorcycle accident and began taking painkillers.
After that, Cathy said the “Big Love” actress was “seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” and said despite rumors, she “never kicked [her] daughter out.”
“She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs,” Cathy claimed. “That was the beginning.”
Cathy said she’d last seen her daughter during a jail visit after she faced two counts of alleged burglary in 2019, describing Daveigh as “completely gone, like out of her mind.”
“I honestly thought there was something wrong with her,” she recalled. “My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her.”
Cathy claimed she had an agreement to pick up Daveigh when she was released from jail, but her daughter “never waited. She went back to the streets and I couldn’t find her,” she said.
The bereaved mom said it “upsets”. her that “people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother,” but insisted she “never gave up” on the “Donnie Darko” actress.
“As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home,” she said.
Just prior to her death — which was first reported by TMZ — Roy Hernandez, a man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend, set up a fundraiser for the actress.
But the actress’s former manager, John Ryan, cast doubt on the fundraiser’s legitimacy, telling The Post on Wednesday that “apparently, a man claiming to be her ‘boyfriend’ that none of us friends or her family has heard of has set up a GoFundMe on ‘her and her families behalf’ that he set her up as the organizer.”
He added, “I can confirm Daveigh has a trust account set up at SAG to cover all costs.” Hernandez, meanwhile, insisted to TMZ that anything gained from his fundraiser would go toward a “proper memorial” for Daveigh.
Ryan — who also said he’d attempted to locate the troubled actress prior to her hospitalization for malnutrition and subsequent death — also claimed the actress left behind millions in residuals.
Ryan told the outlet that Daveigh was “too far gone” on illicit drugs to claim the funds, despite his attempts to get in touch.
Almost ten years prior to her death, Daveigh shared her final Instagram post — a grainy photo of her standing next to a unicorn balloon in Los Angeles in 2017.
In 2009, she shared with Interview magazine that she hoped to “do things that will change someone’s life, not something they’ll forget about tomorrow.”
Entertainment
Hit 90s movie franchise returns after 24 years, star confirms

A hit film from the 90s and noughties is about to get revived after 24 years.
Austin Powers, the comedy spy franchise that has given us three flicks, plenty of big belly laughs, and memorable characters, is finally getting a fourth installment.
The news was confirmed by star and creator Mike Myers (who plays the lead Austin Powers), who offered up the confirmation of another sequel, but with no further details.
While attending Trevor Noah’s World Cup Watch Party this week, the actor was asked the big question by a bold fan.
“Are we ever going to see an Austin Powers 4?” they quizzed.
Myers didn’t need any time at all to respond, swiftly replying: “yes” to the fan.
But that’s all the details fans are getting for now, with the actor avoiding elaborating any more – including what the new flick will be about and which A-listers might be signing up as a cameo.
“Austin Powers” is a much-loved spoof of classic spy movies centring on a highly-sexed, cryogenically frozen 1960s secret agent who wakes up in modern times.
We were first introduced to the franchise in 1997 with the release of “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” Two years later, in 1999, Myers returned with “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and in 2002, we were given “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”
In the trilogy, comedy mastermind Myers famously plays multiple roles, including the velvet-suited hero and his bald, pinky-biting nemesis, Dr. Evil. He also transforms into characters Goldmember and Fat Bastard.
The hilarious franchise boasts wild A-list cameos, including appearances by Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Britney Spears, and Beyoncé.
Over at the box office, the three films have raked in an impressive $US 676 million combined and have snagged over 20 awards, including an Oscar nomination for best make-up as well as a Grammy win for Madonna’s title track for Beautiful Stranger – a song penned for the second film in the franchise.
The news of a fourth film comes 24 years after the third flick hit cinemas.
Since its release, Myers has been hinting that the secret agent may return.
Most recently, speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the 2024 AFI Life Achievement Award Gala, Myers dropped his biggest hint.
“I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project… It’s likely to be from Dr. Evil’s point of view,” he teased.
Entertainment
Bunnie Xo reveals the fight that led to Jelly Roll divorce filing in bombshell tell-all video

Bunnie Xo finally addressed her bombshell divorce from Jelly Roll after 10 years of marriage.
“J and I have never really been good at having disagreements. So, we were the type of couple who never argued. So, he would be holding things in. I would be holding things in, and that’s a recipe for disaster,” Bunnie said on Thursday’s episode of her “Dumb Blonde” podcast.
“We always preach you gotta be comfortable having the uncomfortable conversations, and we did that for eight years in. Then the past year and a half, we kind of got away from that because, we’re in a different life right now.”
Bunnie continued, recalling their final argument that went down on Mother’s Day where she told him to “file the f–king divorce papers.”
“On Mother’s Day, we had a little bit of an argument, which I don’t think the details are necessary. And, in that argument, I was so fed up and so tired that I just looked at him and said, ‘Well, then file the f–king divorce papers,’” she said.
“In our relationship, that is the one cardinal thing that you don’t say, even though my husband has said it numerous times,” she noted. “But, when I say it, it really holds weight because I’m not the type of person who says what I don’t mean.”
The conversation ended with Bunnie packing a bag and leaving the Grammy winner, she said.
The “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic” host added that their IVF journey had also taken a toll on their marriage.
“In the last two years when we decided to have a baby, I had to do IVF. My hat goes off to any woman, family, couple who is going through IVF because let me tell you something dude that is one of the loneliest, darkest journeys you will be on,” she said, noting that process “completely wrecked” her.
“Yes, everybody gets to see the reward at the end, but it is not all bells and whistles. It is not a beautiful journey,” Bunnie continued. “It wrecked me emotionally, spiritually, physically. It was so hard on me that for the past year and a half, I became a shell of the person I was because I’m doing this IVF journey. I’m fighting hard just to you know be able to produce enough eggs to make a baby with my husband, especially at my age.”
The process became more difficult as she revealed that Jelly Roll “had low sperm count” so “he had to get on a bunch of hormones and a whole bunch of medication which turned him into a freaking nightmare to be around.”
Bunnie continued, revealing that the couple has “lost four embryos” throughout their experience.
“We’ve had three transfers but we lost the the two twins that we were going to try to have and then we lost the other two. And anybody that’s going through that and has to deal with these miscarriages, it’s gut-wrenching. It is so heartbreaking,” she confessed.
On Monday, news broke that Jelly Roll, 41, quietly pulled the plug on his and Bunnie Xo’s marriage on May 18, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split, Page Six confirmed.
The country singer filed for divorce in Williamson County, Tennessee, where he and the “Dumb Blonde” podcast host, 46, lived together.
The exes agreed to divide their assets and debts.
Movers were photographed outside of the estranged couple’s Tennessee home on Monday, though it’s unclear whose items were being packed up.
The “Wild Ones” crooner, born Jason Bradley DeFord, hinted at trouble in paradise when he opted out of wearing his wedding ring while performing at the 2026 CMA Fest in Nashville earlier this month.
Eagle-eyed fans on social media also noticed that he has ditched his ring since around February or March.
As for Bunnie, born Alisa DeFord, she compared exes to trash cans in a cheeky video of herself wearing a revenge outfit, captioning it, “Intuition when that s–t don’t add up.”
Additionally, the internet personality shared a photo of herself posing in lingerie shortly before news of their split broke.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie tied the knot in Las Vegas in 2016, but they briefly split in 2018.
They later reconciled and renewed their vows in 2023.
The “Somebody Save Me” singer has previously admitted to having cheated on his estranged wife ahead of getting sober from hard drugs.
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