Paula Deen Birthday (Date, Age, How Old)

Early Life

Born on January 19, 1947, in Albany, Georgia, Paula Ann Hiers Deen is the daughter of Wayne Hiers and Corrie Hiers. She was raised in her maternal grandparents’ home, where she developed her cooking skills under the guidance of her grandmother, Irene Paul. After graduating from Albany High School in 1965, she married her high school sweetheart, Jimmy Deen. The loss of her father at 40 in 1966 and her mother four years later brought significant hardship. Alongside the challenge of raising two children and a traumatic incident of being held up at the bank where she worked, these experiences led to her facing numerous challenges, including frequent panic attacks and bouts of agoraphobia.

In 1987, Deen relocated to Savannah, Georgia, with her sons and began working in a hospital. Two years later, she initiated her catering business, The Bag Lady, which involved preparing lunch for her co-workers, delivered in bags by her sons. This venture marked the start of her professional culinary journey. The following year, in 1991, Deen opened her first restaurant, The Lady, situated in a hotel in Savannah, and the business expanded successfully. She eventually shifted to a more spacious location in downtown.

In 1996, Savannah underwent a rebranding to become The Lady & Sons, highlighting the significant contributions of her two sons to the venture. In the years that ensued, The Lady & Sons attracted a substantial customer following.

1998 marked the publication of “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook,” which featured a selection of her cherished recipes. This book release was a pivotal moment for Deen, selling nearly 70,000 copies in just one day and paving the way for her 2002 television show on the Food Network, “Paula’s Home Cooking.” The show reached the top of the network’s ratings and earned Deen an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lifestyle Host’ in 2007. Its success prompted her to develop two additional cooking shows for the network: “Paula’s Party” (2006 — 2008) and “Paula’s Best Dishes” (2008 — 2013).

By 2012, she had published multiple cookbooks, introduced the “Cooking with Paula Deen” magazine, and released an autobiography that became a “New York Times” bestseller. Additionally, she opened numerous restaurants in casinos nationwide and launched lines of kitchenware and food products.

However, in 2013, her contract with The Food Network was not renewed due to her admission in a lawsuit involving racial slurs. Retailers ceased selling her branded merchandise, and other companies also ended their partnerships with her.
In 2014, she debuted The Paula Deen Network, a subscription-based digital platform. The following year, she embarked on various ventures, including the release of a mobile game and another cookbook that achieved “New York Times” bestseller status. Deen also launched a podcast and a radio show. In 2016, she introduced two new television shows and a clothing line. Furthermore, she opened more restaurants and released additional cookbooks, such as “Paula Deen’s Air Fryer Cookbook” (2016) and “Favorite Recipes of Her Lady and Her Friends” (2017).

Having married in 1965, Deen and her husband had two sons, Jamie and Bobby, before their divorce in 1989. Since 2004, she has been married to Michael Groover, a tugboat captain based in Savannah, Georgia.