Nigella Lawson Net Worth

Nigella Lawson’s Net Worth: $ 15 Million

Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster, and television personality gourmet. She is also food writer and gourmet who has an estimated worth of $ 15 million.

Lawson started work as a book reviewer and restaurant critic as she was born into a prominent and wealthy family. She also served as deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986. She then entered upon a career as a freelance journalist, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines. Her first cookery book 'How to Eat', which was brought on 1998, sold 300,000 copies and became a best-seller while her second book written in 2000, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, she had won the British Book Award for Author of the Year. She hosted her own cooking show series Nigella Bites on Channel 4, accompanied by another best-selling cookbook. Lawson has hosted the Food Network's Nigella Feasts in the United States. She has also hosted a three-part BBC Two series, Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, in the UK. This led Lawson to the commissioning of Nigella Express on BBC Two in 2007. Though she has a successful career in cookery. She is not a trained chef and doesn’t like being called as a “celebrity chef”. Her own cookware range, Living Kitchen has a value of $9.13 million, and she has sold more than 3 million cookery books worldwide to date.

Lawson’s Early Life and Career

Born on January 6, 1960, in London, Lawson parents both came from Jewish families. But she had not a happy childhood as she did not get on well with her father, and she became friendly with her mother who died of liver cancer at age of 48. Lawson has her brother, Dominic, sister Horatia, and late sister Thomasina. She has a half-brother, Tom, and a half-sister, Emily - her father's children by his second wife.  She moved schools nine times between the ages of 9 and 18 and eventually attained a Masters degree in Medieval and Modern Languages from Oxford.

Lawson originally worked in publishing under publisher Naim Attallah. She began her career in journalism after being invited to write book reviews for ‘The Spectator’ by Charles Moore. In 1986, Lawson became the deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times. After resigning from The Sunday Times, she embarked upon a freelance writing career, writing columns on food and makeup. Her cookery How to Eat, featuring culinary tips on preparation and saving time, sold 300,000 copies in the UK. In 2000, How to be a Domestic Goddess was published which focused primarily on baking. The book sold 180,000 copies within four months. She won Lawson the title of Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2001. She was invited by The Observer to be their social affairs columnist. Lawson broadcasted her next cooking show television series, Nigella Bites on Channel E! and Style Network.  The first series of Nigella Bites became the second bestselling cookbook of Christmas 2002 in America, with an average 1.9 million viewers. She won her the Television Broadcast of the Year at the Guild of Food Writers Awards and the Best Television Food Show at the World Food Media Awards. Lawson began to write fortnightly cooking articles for The New York Time. The articles were sold by numerous retailers. Lawson oversaw the menu and preparations for a lunch hosted by Tony Blair. Lawson's fifth book, Feast: Food that Celebrates Life, made sales worth $3.91 million. Lawson appeared frequently on American television, conducting cookery slots on talk shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Lawson started to host a daytime television chat show on ITV1 called Nigella. The first episode debuted with a disappointing 800,000 viewers. The first episode debuted with a disappointing 800,000 viewers. In autumn 2006, her third food-based television series, called Nigella Feasts, debuted on the USA's Food Network. Lawson was next signed to BBC Two to host a three-part cookery show entitled Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, which began in December 2006 and aired weekly. The show won Lawson a second World Food Media Award in 2007. Nigella's Christmas Kitchen led to the commissioning of a 13-part cookery series entitled Nigella Express, suggesting ways of making simple and quick dishes. The show became another rating success and one of BBC Two's top-rated shows each week in 2007. Lawson was featured as one of the three judges on a special battle of Iron Chef America, titled "The Super Chef Battle" in 2010. Her book Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration was released in 2012. The 8-part TV series entitled Nigellissima was broadcast by the BBC. Lawson tarred alongside Anthony Bourdain in the reality cooking show The Taste in the U.S.

Lawson’s Personal Life

Lawson was in a relationship with Geoffrey Robertson QC, human rights lawyer.  Robertson left Lawson for novelist Kathy Lette. Later, Lawson met journalist John Diamond and they married in 1992. They had a daughter, Cosima, and a son, Bruno. John Diamond died of throat cancer on March 2001. Lawson married art collector Charles Saatchi in September 2003. But they divorced ten years after marriage due to unreasonable behavior. Lawson is a supporter of the Lavender Trust which supports young women with breast cancer. Lawson declined an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. Lawson is also entitled to the courtesy style of "The Honourable" and is thus named The Hon. Nigella Lawson.