Christine Diane Teigen
(born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual
''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary cover alongside
Nina Agdal
Nina Brohus Agdal (born 26 March 1992) is a Danish model known for her appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and, alongside Chrissy Teigen and Lily Aldridge, appeared on the 50th anniversary cover in 2014.
Early life
Agdal wa ...
and
Lily Aldridge
Lily Maud Aldridge (born November 15, 1985) is an American model best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 until 2018. She also appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'', alongside Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal, for th ...
in 2014. She formerly appeared as a panelist on the syndicated daytime talk show ''
FABLife
''FABLife'' (''FAB'' being an acronym for "Fun And Beautiful") was an American syndicated daily lifestyle panel talk show that aired from September 14, 2015 until June 22, 2016.
Production
The series, which made its debut on September 14, 2015, ...
'' (2015–2016). She co-hosted the musical competition series ''
Lip Sync Battle
''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...
'' (2015–2019) with
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
and was a judge on the comedy competition series ''
Bring the Funny
''Bring the Funny'' is an American comedy competition series that aired on NBC from July 9 to September 17, 2019.
Hosted by comedian Amanda Seales, the series features various comedy acts performing in front of an audience for a chance to win $2 ...
'' (2019). Teigen has also authored three cookbooks.
Early life
Christine Diane Teigen was born on November 30, 1985, in
Delta, Utah
Delta is the largest city in Millard County, Utah, United States. It is located in the northeastern area of Millard County along the Sevier River and is surrounded by farmland. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 census.
History
Delta was ori ...
.
Her mother, Vilailuck, is from
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, while her father, Ron, is an American of
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
descent.
Her surname is usually pronounced ; despite this, she stated that she prefers the pronunciation .
[Sources that verify the correct and incorrect pronunciations of Teigen's last name include:
*
*
*] After she was born, she and her family relocated to
Snohomish, Washington
Snohomish is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Snohomish River, southeast of Everett and northwest of Monroe. Snohomish lies at the intersection of U.S. Rou ...
, where her parents ran a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
.
When Teigen was 15, her father relocated them to
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...
, after her mother returned to Thailand. During this time, she worked at a surf shop, where she landed a modeling campaign with clothing company
Billabong
Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...
through the shop's clients, and was discovered by a photographer.
In her early modeling career, Teigen lived in Miami, Florida, "for four years, six months out of the year".
Career
Teigen was a briefcase model on the game show ''
Deal or No Deal
''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...
'' during the pilot and first season.
She appeared in the
''Sports Illustrated'' swimsuit issue in 2010, and was named "Rookie of the Year".
Her friend and fellow model
Brooklyn Decker
Brooklyn Danielle Decker (born April 12, 1987) is an American model and actress, perhaps best known for her appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue, including the cover of the 2010 issue. In addition to working for Victoria's ...
had introduced her to the people at ''Sports Illustrated'' to cast her. The following year, she designed and debuted a
capsule collection
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing ...
with swimwear designer DiNeila Brazil at
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
Fashion Week Swim in Miami as well as appeared as a featured character in the 2011
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
video game ''
Need For Speed: The Run''.
She also filmed a
Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting p ...
special titled ''Cookies and Cocktails''.
Two years later, Teigen was the host of the competition series ''Model Employee'' on
VH1.
She was also featured on another Cooking Channel special, titled ''Chrissy Teigen's Hungry'', detailing her wedding menu tasting with then-fiancé,
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
. In October 2013, she appeared in Legend's music video for the song "
All of Me", which also features footage from their wedding.
In April 2014, Teigen played a fictionalized version of herself as a relationship counselor in an ''
Inside Amy Schumer
''Inside Amy Schumer'' is an American sketch comedy television series created and hosted by Amy Schumer. The series aired on Comedy Central from April 30, 2013 to June 16, 2016 and was revived in 2022 for a new season on Paramount+. Schumer and ...
'' sketch.
That same year, she appeared on the 50th anniversary cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' with
Nina Agdal
Nina Brohus Agdal (born 26 March 1992) is a Danish model known for her appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and, alongside Chrissy Teigen and Lily Aldridge, appeared on the 50th anniversary cover in 2014.
Early life
Agdal wa ...
and
Lily Aldridge
Lily Maud Aldridge (born November 15, 1985) is an American model best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 until 2018. She also appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'', alongside Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal, for th ...
.
In January 2015, Teigen guest starred on the sitcom ''
The Mindy Project
''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its run of six seasons on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Un ...
'' as the girlfriend of the man who was the main character's first sexual partner.
In April, she became a co-host of the musical competition series ''
Lip Sync Battle
''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...
'' alongside
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
.
She co-hosted the
2015 ''Billboard'' Music Awards with
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
.
From September 2015 until June 2016, Teigen was a food stylist and panelist on
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
's syndicated daytime talk show, ''
FABLife
''FABLife'' (''FAB'' being an acronym for "Fun And Beautiful") was an American syndicated daily lifestyle panel talk show that aired from September 14, 2015 until June 22, 2016.
Production
The series, which made its debut on September 14, 2015, ...
''.
In February 2016, she published a book titled ''Cravings: Recipes for All of the Food You Want to Eat'', which went on to become a
''New York Times'' bestseller and the second-best selling cookbook of the year.
The following year, Teigen released a clothing line in collaboration with the fashion company Revolve. In September 2018, she released her second book, titled ''Cravings: Hungry For More''.
Simultaneously, she released a line of
cookware
Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...
through
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
. In 2019, she was included on ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''s
list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Teigen started a YouTube channel in 2019. The channel consists of family cooking content and tutorials featuring Teigen, her mother, her husband, and two children.
The following year, Teigen appeared as a judge for the comedy competition series ''
Bring the Funny
''Bring the Funny'' is an American comedy competition series that aired on NBC from July 9 to September 17, 2019.
Hosted by comedian Amanda Seales, the series features various comedy acts performing in front of an audience for a chance to win $2 ...
''.
In November, she launched a cooking website, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, which features recipes as well as restaurant and entertaining tips. ''
Chrissy's Court
''Chrissy's Court'' is an American comedic arbitration-based court show starring television personality and model Chrissy Teigen and her mother, Vilailuck "Pepper Thai" Teigen. The series premiered on April 6, 2020, on Quibi.
In June 2020, Quib ...
'', a courtroom-style series starring Teigen, debuted in April 2020 on
Quibi
Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The servic ...
. Teigen also serves as executive producer for the series.
The series survived the platform's demise later that year, moving to
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by Roku, Inc., which launched in September 2017.
History
In September 2017, Roku, Inc. launched a free, ad-supported streaming channel for its digital med ...
in May 2021 and premiering its second season in June 2022. It was the platform's most watched unscripted premiere ever. The third season is scheduled to premiere on October 21, 2022.
As of May 2021, Target had stopped carrying her cookware line, which a company spokesperson said was a "mutual decision".
Political views and activism
Teigen identifies herself as a
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and intends raising her children as such. She made donations to nonprofit organization
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
in 2015 following the
Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting and again in 2017. She and her husband donated $25,000 to
March for Our Lives
March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and wa ...
, a rally against gun violence, in 2018. A supporter of immigrants' rights, Teigen delivered a speech at a
Families Belong Together
Families Belong Together refers both to an advocacy campaign devoted to reuniting immigrant families that were separated at the US-Mexico border by a Trump administration policy introduced in spring 2018, and also specifically to a series of pr ...
event in Los Angeles that same year. In May 2020, she donated $200,000 to bail and legal defense funds to aid activists arrested during
protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
in response to the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
.
Teigen is a vocal critic of former U.S. President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. In June 2018, she donated $72,000 to the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
, a nonprofit organization, to commemorate Trump's 72nd birthday. Teigen and her husband endorsed
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
during the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...
. The couple endorsed
Joe Biden in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
.
Personal life
Teigen became engaged to singer
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
in December 2011, after four years of dating. The couple first met while filming his 2006 music video for the song "
Stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
", in which she played his love interest.
They married in September 2013,
celebrating their wedding on September 14 in
Como, Italy
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...
.
Legend's song "All of Me" was dedicated to her. They reside in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, California.
Teigen and Legend have two children, a daughter born in April 2016 and a son born in May 2018. In 2020, the couple were expecting a third child,
but Teigen later revealed that she aborted the pregnancy in September due to pregnancy complications. On August 3, 2022, she announced on Instagram that she is expecting another child.
In May 2021, television personality
Courtney Stodden
Courtney Alexis Stodden (born August 29, 1994) is an American media personality, model, and singer. After competing in beauty pageants in their home state of Washington and releasing original music, then-16-year-old Stodden came to internation ...
said that in 2011, during her marriage as a
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
to actor
Doug Hutchison
Doug Anthony Hutchison (born May 26, 1960) is an American character actor, known for playing disturbing and antagonistic characters. Such characters include Obie Jameson in the 1988 film '' The Chocolate War'', Sproles in the 1988 film '' Fresh H ...
, Teigen tweeted and privately messaged them urging them to kill themselves. Teigen subsequently apologized to Stodden, saying she was sad and mortified at her past self, whom she described as "an insecure, attention seeking troll."
Stodden accepted her apology but deemed it an attempt to save her business partnerships.
A month later, Teigen released another apology in a lengthy blog post admitting to
cyberbullying
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...
. Fashion designer
Michael Costello and television personality
Farrah Abraham
Farrah Abraham (born May 31, 1991) is an American reality television personality, singer, pornographic actress, and writer. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she received public attention after being cast in the reali ...
then respectively spoke out about being targets of her attacks, with Costello posting
screenshot
screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is a digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by the operating system or software running on the device powering the display.
Additionally, s ...
s of taunting messages from Teigen. In response to Costello, Teigen stated that his screenshots had been faked and shared screenshots of praiseful messages from Costello, after which the designer said he had evidence to verify his claims.
On July 18, 2022, Teigen celebrated one year of sobriety from drinking alcohol.
Filmography
Film and television
Music videos
Video games
Bibliography
* Teigen, Chrissy. ''Cravings: Hungry for More''. Random House, 2018 .
* Teigen, Chrissy. ''Cravings: All Together''. Random House, 2021. .
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teigen, Christine
1985 births
Living people
American female models
American feminists
American models
American people of Norwegian descent
American people of Thai descent
Television personalities from California
American women bloggers
American bloggers
American women television personalities
California Democrats
Female models from California
Female models from Utah
Female models from Washington (state)
Game show models
IMG Models models
John Legend
People from Delta, Utah
People from Huntington Beach, California
Women cookbook writers
Women who experienced pregnancy loss
21st-century American women