# Paula Deen
**Paula Deen** (Paula Ann Hiers, born 1947) is an American restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality from [Savannah, Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/savannah-georgia), known for traditional Southern cooking built on butter, frying, and indulgent desserts, and for the 2013 racism scandal that cost her [Food Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/food-network) show and most of her endorsement empire.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 in Albany, Georgia, to Corrie and Earl Hiers; graduated Albany High School in 1965[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) |
| First business | The Bag Lady, a home-based catering company started in Savannah in June 1989 with her last $200[2](https://www.pauladeen.com/about-paula/) |
| Restaurants | The Lady (Best Western hotel, 1990); The Lady and Sons (downtown Savannah, 1996), which served roughly 1,100 diners per day at the height of her popularity[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e) |
| Television | Paula's Home Cooking premiered on the Food Network in November 2002, followed by Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes; more than 200 episodes taped over a decade[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e) |
| 2013 scandal | A deposition in the Lisa Jackson lawsuit, made public in June 2013, showed Deen admitting under oath to past use of the N-word; the Food Network canceled her show and major sponsors, including Walmart and a casino resort company, ended their relationships[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2013/06/26/why-paula-deen-is-not-martha-stewart/) |
| Lawsuit outcome | The discrimination lawsuit was dismissed in August 2013, after it had already devastated her career[5](https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-paula-deen-lawsuit-dismissed-20130823-story.html) |
| Later business | Paula Deen Ventures, backed by the private investment firm Najafi Companies with $75 million to $100 million; the Paula Deen Network online launched in September 2014[6](https://time.com/2857076/paula-deen-network/) |
| Restaurant closures | The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box closed for good on July 31, 2025[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e) |
## Early life and the Bag Lady
Deen grew up in [Albany, Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/albany-georgia), spending her early childhood at River Bend, a small resort in Dougherty County owned by her grandparents; her mother and grandmother ran the resort's restaurant[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/). She married Jimmy Deen at eighteen, had sons Jamie and Bobby, and soon after her second son's birth began suffering from depression and fear of public places, using cooking as a way to cope[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/).
In 1989, divorced and nearly broke, she moved with her sons to Savannah and started The Bag Lady, a catering business in which Deen and her sons delivered bagged sandwiches and desserts downtown[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/). Her own account places the start with her last $200 and sons delivering "lunch-and-love-in-a-bag" beginning in June 1989[2](https://www.pauladeen.com/about-paula/). When the catering proved successful, she opened her first restaurant, The Lady, in a [Best Western](https://www.edgepedia.org/best-western) hotel in 1990, then the larger The Lady and Sons in 1996, serving Southern staples such as hoecakes, fried chicken, and fried green tomatoes[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/).
**From restaurant to television.** In 1997 Deen published her first cookbook, *The Lady and Sons: Savannah Country Cookbook*, and sold it on QVC, the home-shopping network; her own site dates the book to 1998 and calls it the start of her television exposure[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) • [2](https://www.pauladeen.com/about-paula/). In 1999 a *USA Today* food critic named The Lady and Sons his "meal of the year"[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/). That year she met the television producer Gordon Elliott, who brought her onto his cooking show as a guest; appearances on several Food Network shows followed, and in November 2002 her own show, *Paula's Home Cooking*, premiered[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/). Filmed mostly in her home kitchen, it ran for more than 200 episodes over the next decade, and she later starred in two more Food Network series, *Paula's Party* and *Paula's Best Dishes*[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e). In the 2000s she was also a regular guest on talk shows including *The Oprah Winfrey Show*[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/paula-deen-swears-she-isnt-racist-in-new-documentary-canceled/). Her public image leaned deliberately on Southern persona and rich food, and an internet meme of Deen riding a stick of butter spread from that reputation[8](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jan/18/paula-deens-most-egregious-recipes).
## Diabetes disclosure and criticism
In January 2012 Deen revealed on NBC's *Today* show that she had [Type 2 diabetes](https://www.edgepedia.org/type-2-diabetes), which she said she had kept private for three years while continuing to present high-fat, high-calorie recipes on television[9](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paula-deen-reveals-diabetes-wont-change-how-she-cooks/). The timing drew particular criticism because she simultaneously announced an endorsement deal for a diabetes drug from the Danish company [Novo Nordisk](https://www.edgepedia.org/novo-nordisk), adding it to a portfolio of sponsorships that included Smithfield ham and Philadelphia Cream Cheese[9](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paula-deen-reveals-diabetes-wont-change-how-she-cooks/). The fellow chef [Anthony Bourdain](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-bourdain) called her "the most dangerous person to America" and criticized her for continuing to tout high-fat cooking after the diagnosis[10](https://theweek.com/articles/478818/paula-deens-diabetes-dont-blame-southern-cooking). Deen declined to abandon her style, saying she would offer lighter versions of her recipes alongside the originals[11](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paula-deen-shrugs-off-critics-says-food-will-be-lighter/).
## The 2013 lawsuit and deposition
The controversy began with a lawsuit filed by Lisa Jackson, a White restaurant manager, against Deen and her younger brother Earl "Bubba" Hiers over accusations of racism and sexual harassment at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House, a restaurant Deen owned and her brother ran[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/09/09/paula-deen-canceled-documentary-interview/). According to a 2025 account of the case, Deen had received a threatening legal letter on January 31, 2012, offering to drop a planned suit for a $1.25 million settlement; she refused to pay, and the lawsuit went forward with allegations that Bubba frequently used racist and sexist language, watched pornography at work, and drank on the job[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/paula-deen-swears-she-isnt-racist-in-new-documentary-canceled/).
Deen was deposed on May 17, 2013. Asked under oath whether she had ever used the N-word, she answered, "Yes, of course," adding that "it's been a very long time"[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e). Reporting on the deposition also revealed that she had planned a "Southern plantation-styled" wedding featuring African-American servants[13](https://time.com/3421319/paula-deen-today-show-nbc/). After the deposition became public, the fallout moved quickly: the Food Network canceled *Paula's Home Cooking*, Walmart ended its relationship with her Southern food empire, and a casino resort company dropped her name from four buffet restaurants[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2013/06/26/why-paula-deen-is-not-martha-stewart/). Her tearful apology interview with [Matt Lauer](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-lauer) on *Today* was widely panned, and commentators noted that the scandal fit an existing, if simplistic, stereotype of the South in a way that celebrity recoveries by figures such as [Martha Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/martha-stewart) or [Tiger Woods](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiger-woods) had not[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2013/06/26/why-paula-deen-is-not-martha-stewart/). In August 2013 the lawsuit itself was dismissed, but only after it had wrecked a multimillion-dollar career[5](https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-paula-deen-lawsuit-dismissed-20130823-story.html).
## Comeback and later career
**The Paula Deen Network.** In February 2014 Deen launched Paula Deen Ventures, backed by Najafi Companies with a reported $75 million to $100 million to oversee restaurants, cookbooks, and endorsements, and in September 2014 she started her own online network carrying her back catalog plus new weekly shows[6](https://time.com/2857076/paula-deen-network/). She returned to *Today* in September 2014, saying "My words hurt people" and promoting the digital venture[13](https://time.com/3421319/paula-deen-today-show-nbc/). Later ventures included a live touring show in 2014, a mobile game and podcast in 2015, a cookbook of lightened recipes, *Paula Deen Cuts the Fat*, that reached *The New York Times* Best Sellers List within a week, and four Paula Deen's Family Kitchen restaurants in [Pigeon Forge, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/pigeon-forge-tennessee); [Myrtle Beach, South Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/myrtle-beach-south-carolina); [Branson, Missouri](https://www.edgepedia.org/branson-missouri); and Nashville, Tennessee[2](https://www.pauladeen.com/about-paula/).
Deen also returned to television, competing on ABC's *Dancing with the Stars*, appearing on [Gordon Ramsay](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-ramsay)'s Fox show *MasterChef: Legends*, and starring on Fox Nation, which began streaming *At Home With Paula Deen* in 2020; her YouTube channel has more than 520,000 subscribers[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e).
**The 2025 closures and documentary.** On July 31, 2025, Deen announced the abrupt, permanent closure of The Lady & Sons and the takeout operation The Chicken Box behind it, ending a nearly three-decade run; her statement gave no reason, and an observer reported the restaurant had still been packed[3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e). Weeks later, the documentary *Canceled: The Paula Deen Story*, directed by Billy Corben, premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival), and Deen surprised the audience by appearing in person after a screening[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/09/09/paula-deen-canceled-documentary-interview/). The film revisits the 2013 scandal and, according to its director, aims to let viewers form an educated opinion rather than to excuse her behavior; the documentary also reports that the legal letter of 2012 had threatened a nationwide press release if she refused the settlement[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/09/09/paula-deen-canceled-documentary-interview/) • [7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/paula-deen-swears-she-isnt-racist-in-new-documentary-canceled/).
## Cooking style and reputation
Deen's cooking is built on the Southern foodways of her upbringing: fried chicken, banana pudding, hoecakes, and desserts heavy on butter, cream, and sugar[1](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e). Critics have repeatedly measured that style against health evidence. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine named *Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible* one of the five unhealthiest cookbooks of 2011, and the diabetes endorsement amplified the critique[10](https://theweek.com/articles/478818/paula-deens-diabetes-dont-blame-southern-cooking). A 2015 analysis in the journal *Circulation* of 17,418 people in their 40s found that those who ate a lot of Southern-style cuisine had a 56 percent greater risk of heart disease over roughly six years of follow-up than those who ate less, though the study could not establish that the diet alone caused the increase[14](https://time.com/3989367/healthy-southern-food/). Food writers have also debated her claim to Southern cuisine itself; Bourdain called her food "novelty food" rather than Southern food, and commentators have questioned how a cook with a persona built on an accent and a countrified kitchen became the dominant national voice for the region's cooking[15](https://www.eater.com/2019/11/7/20951397/paula-deen-racism-career-rise-fall-white-negroes-book-excerpt).
## References
1. [Paula Deen, New Georgia Encyclopedia](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/paula-deen-b-1947/)
2. [About Paula, PaulaDeen.com](https://www.pauladeen.com/about-paula/)
3. [Paula Deen has abruptly closed the Savannah restaurant that launched her to Food Network fame, Associated Press (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/a28e4ddf5f17e308eef0ded005b82b3e)
4. [Why Paula Deen is not Martha Stewart, The Washington Post (2013)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2013/06/26/why-paula-deen-is-not-martha-stewart/)
5. [Paula Deen lawsuit dismissed, but not before it destroyed career, Los Angeles Times (2013)](https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-paula-deen-lawsuit-dismissed-20130823-story.html)
6. [Paula Deen Cooks Up Her Own Online Network, Time (2014)](https://time.com/2857076/paula-deen-network/)
7. [Paula Deen Swears She Isn't Racist in New Documentary 'Canceled: The Paula Deen Story', The Daily Beast (2025)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/paula-deen-swears-she-isnt-racist-in-new-documentary-canceled/)
8. [Paula Deen's most egregious recipes, The Guardian (2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jan/18/paula-deens-most-egregious-recipes)
9. [Paula Deen reveals diabetes, won't change how she cooks, CBS News (2012)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paula-deen-reveals-diabetes-wont-change-how-she-cooks/)
10. [Paula Deen's diabetes: Don't blame Southern cooking?, The Week](https://theweek.com/articles/478818/paula-deens-diabetes-dont-blame-southern-cooking)
11. [Paula Deen shrugs off critics, says food will be lighter, CBS News (2013)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paula-deen-shrugs-off-critics-says-food-will-be-lighter/)
12. [Paula Deen isn't here to 'convince y'all' that she's not a racist, The Washington Post (2025)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/09/09/paula-deen-canceled-documentary-interview/)
13. [Paula Deen Returns to Today: 'My Words Hurt People', Time (2014)](https://time.com/3421319/paula-deen-today-show-nbc/)
14. [5 Recipes That Prove Southern Food Can Be Healthy, Time (2015)](https://time.com/3989367/healthy-southern-food/)
15. [Why America Could Overlook Paula Deen's Racism, Eater (2019)](https://www.eater.com/2019/11/7/20951397/paula-deen-racism-career-rise-fall-white-negroes-book-excerpt)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Restaurants, chefs, and culinary practice › Chefs, culinary professions, and hospitality › Television and celebrity chefs › American television chefs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license