Ayesha Curry is a Canadian and American businesswoman, chef, restauranteur and actress. After guest roles in several television shows and films, she began hosting Ayesha's Homemade (a.k.a. Ayesha's Home Kitchen) on Food Network in 2016. Despite not having any professional chef training, she began her culinary career in 2014, when she prepared her first meal as a YouTube demonstration.
Curry is the author of several videos on her YouTube channel Little Lights of Mine, and has written two cookbooks: The Seasoned Life, published in 2016,[1][2] and The Full Plate, published in 2020.
In 2011, she married basketball player Stephen Curry, with whom she has four children.
Career
At age 12, Curry acted as the love interest in the music video for "Too Young for Love" by Suga Prince (now known as Sevn Thomas).[3]
After graduating from Weddington High School, Curry moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, appearing mostly in bit parts. She appeared in a short film Underground Street Flippers (2009), the TV movie Dan's Detour of Life (2008), and in the direct to DVD movie Love for Sale (2008).[4]
After her marriage she started a food blog, and then a YouTube channel. This led to a short lived Food Network show Ayesha's Homemade, which follows her professional and personal life with cameos from her husband and two daughters.[5] The first season ran for six episodes.[6] A second season of six episodes, named Ayesha's Home Kitchen premiered on Food Network on April 30, 2017.[7][8]
In 2016, she released her cookbook The Seasoned Life. In addition to her written recipes, Curry often posts instructional cooking videos on her YouTube channel.[9]
In July 2019, Curry and her husband launched the "Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation" in Oakland, California.[16] The foundation works to end childhood hunger, increase access to quality education, and provide safe spaces for children to stay active.[17] In 2024, she appeared in the Netflix movie Irish Wish.[18]
Restaurant and food business
Her 2014 company Little Lights of Mine sold its own brand of extra virgin olive oil, and 10% of all proceeds are donated to the charity No Kid Hungry.[19]
In 2017, Curry started Homemade, the Oakland-based meal-kit delivery service, turned (in 2019) retail store pop-up.[22]
In April 2020, Curry launched Sweet July, a brand consisting of a lifestyle magazine, brick-and-mortar store, and product line.[23] In September 2020, she launched her television and film production company Sweet July Productions, with a first-look deal at Entertainment One.[24] In 2023, Curry launched Sweet July Skin, and in 2024, she opened Sweet July Cafe in Santa Monica.[25]
Personal life
Curry's mother is of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent while her father is of mixed African-American and Polish descent. She was born and raised in Toronto until the age of 14, when she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. She first gained an interest in cooking at a young age. With her mother operating a salon in the basement of their home, Curry would watch as her babysitter cooked Trinidadian curry and roti and brought it down to customers.[26]
On July 30, 2011, she married NBA player Stephen Curry. The two had met in a church youth group in Charlotte when they were 15 and 14 years old.[27][28][29] They did not start dating until years later when Ayesha was pursuing her acting career in Hollywood and Stephen was visiting for an awards show. Ayesha soon moved back to Charlotte close to where Stephen was playing college basketball at Davidson College.[26] Together, they have four children.[30][31][32][33]
In 2023, Curry opposed the development of multi-family housing in the wealthy enclave of Atherton, California, where she and her family live.[34] In a letter in which Curry and her husband opposed affordable housing in their neighborhood, they wrote, "We hesitate to add to the 'not in our backyard' (literally) rhetoric, but... safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority and one of the biggest reasons we chose Atherton as home."[35]
Curry is a Pentecostal Christian. She described her faith as "the foundation for everything that I do, really. … With my relationship with my husband, it's what it's founded on."[36][37] She added that "[W]hen Steph decided to play basketball, I had the same conversation with him that he had with me. 'Whatever you do, do it well, but do it for God.' I think that's what has kept us grounded. When I started my blog called 'Little Lights of Mine,' my whole goal was to do the things I wanted to do, but all while being a light for Him."[38]
^O'Connell, Michael (18 October 2018). "'Great American Baking Show' Returning at ABC With Emma Bunton". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Gone are season-three co-host Ayesha Curry and judge Johnny Iuzzini. In their place, Spice Girl Emma Bunton will be joining Anthony Adams as co-host, and pastry chef Sherry Yard is taking over the judging table with Paul Hollywood.
^"Steph Curry Says 'Not in My Backyard' to New Homes in Atherton". The San Francisco Standard. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023. We hesitate to add to the 'not in our backyard' (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today's meeting," the Currys wrote. "Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority and one of the biggest reasons we chose Atherton as home.