• Sunny Anderson was born in San Antonio, Texas and is a retired US Air Force veteran.
• She is known for hosting "The Kitchen" and "How'd That Get On My Plate?" on the Food Network channel
• She also has her own invention, Infladium, a reusable stadium shaped snack holder
• Sunny is currently in a relationship and has adopted 5 dogs and 3 cats
• She has a net worth of $5 million and has written a New York Times best-selling cookbook



Known for movies

Short Info

Net Worth$5 million
Date Of BirthApril 9, 1975
FactFormer staff member of Emeril Lagasse. It was here where she got her TV show, Cooking for Real (2008).


Sunny Anderson is mostly known for her hosting of “The Kitchen” series aired on the Food NetWork channel. Her constantly changing hairstyles attract much attention, but her fans have just recently found out what made Sunny change her appearance so often – and the secret was quite unexpected.

Early life and family

Sunny Anderson was born on 9 April 1975, in San Antonio, Texas USA. She holds American nationality, and her zodiac sign is Aries. She was born into the family of African-American descent. Her father’s name is Thomas Anderson, who is a retired army veteran. Her mother is Linda Anderson, and a housewife.

Sunny mentioned her parents were both foodies, and she inherited her passion for food and cooking from them. She has very warm memories from her childhood with her parents, and they were all home for holidays, especially for Christmas, cooking traditional dishes and watching family movies together. Sunny has a brother, though hasn’t disclosed his name. Her grandmother lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina; Sunny sometimes visits her to enjoy the quash pie she cooks. When Sunny turned 19, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and is still battling with it.

Educational background

Sunny matriculated from Madison High School in 1993, then enrolled at Loyola University, but there is no information on her degree, however, after her graduation she joined the US Air Force.

She hosted a military radio program while posted to South Korea, leaving the Air Force in June 1997.

Career

Radio host career

Being confident with her speaking skills, Sunny started her career as a radio host. She worked as a DJ at KONO-FM and KCJZ radio stations, located in San Antonio. Later she joined the team of WJWZ in Montgomery, Alabama, and then moved to Fort Polk, Louisiana to work for WYLD-FM and KUMX radio stations. She later worked for WDTJ in Detroit, Michigan, for almost a year.

Sunny Anderson

Cooking and TV hosting career

In 2003 Sunny founded her own catering company she called “Sunny’s Delicious Dishes”, located in New Jersey. In October 2005 she made her first appearance on TV, being featured as a guest of the Emeril Live program aired on Food NetWork. The authorities of the channel noticed her talents and charisma, and invited her to host the show “How’d That Get On My Plate?”. Sunny started hosting the program in June 2008, having from 2006 to 2007 held the position of lifestyle and food editor in the Hip Hop Weekly Magazine, as earlier her catering company worked with a lot of hip-hop musicians, so Sunny was noticed and invited to work for the magazine. She’s also hosted “Cooking For Real” show since 2008, and co-hosts the “Gotta Get It” cooking program along with Marc Istook.

In January 2014, Sunny started hosting another Food NetWork show “The Kitchen”, and could also be seen as a guest host or co-host on such shows as “The Wendy Williams Show”, “Good Morning America”, “The Early Show”, etc.

Sunny’s original invention – Infladium

Being a fan of football, Sunny matched her two biggest passions into one, and created Infladium – a special reusable stadium shaped from for snacks. Sunny shared she knew that a lot of people make their own “snack stadiums” with paper, foil or cardboard, and they all could be used just once. She also said that she was tired of spending the whole day in her garage, constructing another “stadium” with her glue gun, so she invented Infladium to help people to save time and have their snacks served in their favorite style. One can buy Sunny’s invention for around $25-$30 online.

 

Personal life, current boyfriend. Is she married?

Sunny is a very charismatic person, so her fans had hard times trying to understand why she remained single for a long time. She was once rumored to be dating Chef Aaron Sanchez in 2013, after he divorced from his then-wife Ife Mora. However, Sunny denied the gossip, saying that they were just friends. Sunny has recently made her fans breathe a sigh of relief ,letting them know she has a man in her life. She didn’t share many details, only stating that she feels way too comfortable with him, while she didn’t even believe such people like him exist – honest, kind and loving. As she was single for a long period of time, Sunny was also rumored to be a lesbian, but… wrong!

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

  • Sunny’s favorite food which makes her comfortable is spicy pasta with cheese.
  • Sunny is a true fan of New York Giants of the NFL (National Football League).
  • Sunny shared that she lived in Germany for three years, exploring Europe from various interesting sides, including local cuisines.
  • Her book “Sunny’s Kitchen: Easy Food for Real Life” is one of the New York Times’ best sellers.
  • Sunny has a five dogs and three cats at home, as she adopts them from shelters.
  • One of the latest books she enjoyed was “My Friend Anna”, written by Rachel DeLoache Williams.

We chatted with @FoodNetwork Dish about our Thanksgiving Picks! Watch #TheKitchen Saturday:…

Posted by Sunny Anderson on Thursday, November 20, 2014

Social media presence

Sunny takes her Instagram account seriously. Not only she shares her food porn photos there, but posts some real talks. Her fans are often grateful for her being honest and open with them. She sometimes shares very personal photos of herself, such as a picture of her sleeping on the couch. The caption was filled with self-confidence and self-irony, and Sunny encouraged her fans not to be afraid to be themselves and to embrace all the hard days in their life which made them fall asleep without even undressing. Her profile attracted more than 440,000 followers.

Appearance, wigs, hairstyles

Sunny has very short natural hair which has turned grey already; she has brown eyes. Sunny is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 198lbs (90kgs). Sunny’s hairstyles always attracted a lot of attention from both fans and haters.

She once shared on her Instagram account that people often ask her if she ever saw her real hair, and she admitted that her natural hair is sparse and quite short now. ‘It was beautiful growing up, people thought I dyed it in grade school. Pretty golden blonde streaks in medium brown hair. Then…it just started falling out in 2005’, Sunny wrote on her social media profile. She also wrote she didn’t cry over her hair and didn’t feel stressed, as she was sure that she didn’t do anything wrong, since she didn’t use any chemicals or other products on her hair to make them fall out – the reason of the hair loss was natural.

She lost almost all her hair in a single year, and she started wearing wigs, admitting they save her with variety of length and color shades. Sunny jokes that her bald hair gets a lot of airing at home, as she takes her wig off as soon as she takes off her bra, and her partner is totally ok with the way she looks in real life.

Net worth and salary

As of 2019, Sunny is reported to have a net worth of $5 million. She benefits a lot from the sales of her cookbook, and her multiple appearances on various TV shows. She supports multiple foundations, helping cancer survivors to live a normal life again.

General Info

Full NameSunny Anderson
Net Worth$5 million
Date Of BirthApril 9, 1975
ProfessionTV Personality, Entrepreneur, Radio personality
EducationUnited States Air Force
NationalityAmerican

Family

ParentsLinda Anderson, Thomas Anderson

Accomplishments

TV ShowsThe Kitchen, Home Made in America, How'd That Get on My Plate?, Cooking for Real, Top 5 Restaurants, The Next Food Network Star After Party

Social profile links

Facts

#Fact
1Currently resides in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, shuffling time between there and Los Angeles. [December 2009]
2Her grandmother, who lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina, makes a great squash pie.
3As a military brat, she moved frequently.
4Fan of the NFL's New York Giants.
5Former radio DJ.
6Former staff member of Emeril Lagasse. It was here where she got her TV show, Cooking for Real (2008).
7Former caterer for hip-hop artists.
8Favorite comfort food she makes is spicy macaroni and cheese.
9Lived in Germany for three years.
10Moved to New Orleans in 1997, influenced partly by the cuisine.
11Former senior airman in the U.S. Air Force.

Movies

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Kitchen2014-2017TV SeriesHerself - Co-Hostess
Cooks vs. Cons2016-2017TV SeriesHerself - Judge
Beat Bobby Flay2014-2017TV SeriesHerself - Judge / Mentor
Bakers vs. Fakers2017TV SeriesHerself - Judge
Rachael Ray2008-2017TV SeriesHerself / Herself - Guest Co-Hostess / Herself - The Kitchen / ...
Chopped Junior2017TV SeriesHerself - Judge
The Kitchen Sink2016-2017TV SeriesHerself - Co-Hostess
Today2012-2016TV SeriesHerself - Guest / Herself / Herself - Co-Hostess, The Kitchen
Brunch at Bobby's2016TV SeriesHerself
Top 5 Restaurants2015-2016TV SeriesHerself - Co-Hostess
Home & Family2015-2016TV SeriesHerself
The Talk2013-2016TV SeriesHerself / Herself - Co-Hostess, The Kitchen / Herself - Guest
Christmas at Bobby's2015TV MovieHerself
Thanksgiving at Bobby's2015TV MovieHerself
Rachael Ray's Kids Cook-Off2015TV Mini-SeriesHerself - Judge
Food Network Star2009-2015TV SeriesHerself / Herself - Guest Judge
Weekend Today2015TV SeriesHerself - Guest
Fox and Friends2015TV SeriesHerself - Author, Grilling for Heroes Cookbook
Chopped2013-2014TV SeriesHerself - Contestant
Melissa Harris-Perry2013-2014TV SeriesHerself - Guest
Good Morning America2011-2014TV SeriesHerself - Guest
Rewrapped2014TV SeriesHerself - Judge / Co-Hostess, The Kitchen
The Doctors2014TV SeriesHerself - Co-Hostess, The Kitchen
The Wendy Williams Show2014TV SeriesHerself
Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off2014TV SeriesHerself - Judge
Bethenny2013-2014TV SeriesHerself
The View2010-2014TV SeriesHerself
David's Food Court2013TV SeriesHerself
The Queen Latifah Show2013TV SeriesHerself - Guest
The Chew2013TV SeriesHerself - Guest
Thanksgiving Live!2012TV SpecialHerself
The Best Thing I Ever Made2011-2012TV SeriesHerself
Katie2012TV SeriesHerself
Iron Chef America: The Series2012TV SeriesHerself - ICA Judge
Iron Chef America Countdown2012TV SeriesHerself - Guest / Herself
Home Made in America2012TV SeriesHerself - Hostess
The Perfect 32011-2012TV SeriesHerself
Thanksgiving Live!2011/IITV SpecialHerself
Paula's Best Dishes2011TV SeriesHerself
The Nate Berkus Show2011TV SeriesHerself
Cooking for Real2008-2011TV SeriesHerself - Hostess
The Best Thing I Ever Ate2010-2011TV SeriesHerself
Food Network Challenge2010TV SeriesHerself - Contestant
Dear Food Network2008TV SeriesHerself
Dear Food Network: Turkey Day Leftovers2008TV MovieHerself
Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving2008TV Series
Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving Disasters2008TV MovieHerself
How'd That Get on My Plate?2008TV SeriesHerself - Host
Gotta Get It: Grilling2007TV SpecialHerself - Host

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia
Author

Benjy is currently a reporter for BiographyPedia based in Adelaide, Australia. Prior to joining BiographyPedia in July 2019, he was a Bizarre TV reporter and theatre critic at TheSun. Benjy has also written for DailyMail and TMZ. Benjy studied journalism at Goldsmiths University of London, graduating in 2009. You can contact him at [email protected].

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