Giada De Laurentiis' Daughter Jade Is Basically Her Twin
You all know Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' affinity for Italian food and over-enunciating Italian words, but did you know we have someone who could play the Emmy-award winning television personality in the eventual Giada biopic? That would be her daughter, and only child, Jade Marie De Laurentiis-Thompson.
Born on March 29, 2008, to the Culinary Hall of Famer and fashion designer Todd Thompson, Jade is the spitting image of her mother — And she can already cook better than us. Staying very much on brand, "Jade" translates to "Giada" in Italian, so she's literally Giada 2.0. This is science, folks. It can't be questioned. We're learning so much already!
However, Jade's mere existence was a response to a tragedy, but the gift she's given her mom is much greater than Giada's recipe gifts to all of us. Here are a few things you may not know about Giada De Laurentiis adorable daughter, Jade Marie De Laurentiis-Thompson.
A tragedy almost kept her from being born
In a 2009 issue of Redbook (per Delish), Giada De Laurentiis opened up about her fears of having children after watching her brother, Dino De Laurentiis, tragically passed away from melanoma at the age of 29. "My brother's passing made me afraid, I think because I was afraid that we could have a child and lose him or her too," she explained. Not knowing if she "could go through that kind of pain with anybody else" made her "very down on the whole idea" on the idea of bringing a child into the world. Luckily, a few years later, her view on motherhood changed. She realized, "If I never have a child, that might be the saddest thing for me...I stopped thinking of just my own mortality; I started thinking about the life we're leaving for someone else."
Now with a beautiful child of her own, Giada regularly shares the memory of her brother with Jade. Speaking with People, Giada's boyfriend, Shane Farley, revealed the Italian chef had a bench installed at Dino's favorite spot to overlook the ocean in Los Angeles. "We often walk up there with Jade and that's been really kind of special. It's a real connection to her brother and it's been nice to share that with her," he said.
She'll probably stay an only child
Talking to Popsugar in 2010, Giada De Laurentiis hinted that she doesn't plan on having any more children. Considering her hectic schedule and the pain she endured with her brother's death, it's easy to understand why she isn't eager to become a mother for the second time. Like every first-time parent, Giada understood that "you don't really know what it's like to have kids until you have one of your own," but at the time of the article, she stated her focus on her career and family was most important. "I have so many babies: the show, [her then-husband] Todd, and Jade."
Al Pacino. Samuel L. Jackson. Robert DeNiro. Natalie Portman. Drew Barrymore. Daniel Radcliffe. Jack Nicholson. Elvis Presley. Anthony Hopkins. Leonardo DiCaprio. Betty White. Jade is in pretty good company as a famous only child. Two of them were in Godfather II. That movie features a lot of Italian food. See what we did there? It's fate.
She's a little foodie already
We know you might find this hard to believe, but according to Redbook (via Delish), Jade was "crawling around the kitchen" ready to taste things before she could talk. Giada De Laurentiis gushed of her little foodie, "I give her little tastes of the food and she's like, 'Mmm!' Sometimes there's nothing on the spoon, and she still goes, 'Mmm!'" Jade has graduated from taste testing to cooking since then, helping her famous chef mother prepare meals while being taught the value of a discerning palate.
Per People, when Giada purchased her daughter "a little purple ceramic knife," Jade fell in love with cooking immediately. "She's like 'What can I chop? What can I cut?'" Giada said. "It makes her excited about what she's going to make, and then she's more apt to actually try new things and eat her dinner." The pair even spent a month in Rome shooting images for the 2018 cookbook, Giada's Italy: My Recipes For La Dolce Vita. We've never been this jealous of a child before.
She has a new man in her life
On December 29, 2014, Giada De Laurentiis announced that she and Jade's father, Todd Thompson, decided to end their marriage. Around a year later, she began dating television producer, Shane Farley. They've been going strong ever since — and Farley's relationship with Jade has grown strong as well.
"I do not have children and to be able to have such a well-adjusted, fun kid around has been really nice," Farley told People. "She's just a great child. She's smart. She's funny. She's adorable." Saying he "really enjoy hanging out with her," Farley claims Jade's "two amazing parents" allow him to "be a part of her life without any pressure."
In 2017, per Deadline, it was announced Farley would serve as the executive producer for Steve Harvey's new daytime talk show, Steve. That seems to have put Farley on Jade's good side. "She's a big fan of Steve Harvey so she often asks me, 'Who is on the show? What did Steve say that day?' And sometimes I'll come over and she's watching the show from that day," he told People. "So that's been cool."
Her parents still hang out
Seen here celebrating Jade's 10th birthday at Benihana, Todd Thompson, and Giada De Laurentiis (as any successful co-parents will tell you) make a concerted effort to put whatever personal issues they have aside for the sake of their daughter's happiness. Living near each other certainly doesn't hurt.
"We live a stone's throw away from each other, like five minutes, which has really helped keep Jade stable and just keep her environment as similar as possible at both places," Giada explained to People. "Getting along with my ex-husband really helps as well. We're supportive of each other and, in turn, supportive of Jade."
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Todd received "$9k a month in child support" and the couple's "$3.2 million house in Pacific Palisades" in the divorce settlement, so if you might be feeling bad for him, his life could be a lot worse. Let's hope he paid for the Benihana.
She's already a seasoned television veteran
Since her birth, Jade has become a familiar name and face on Giada At Home. She also regularly tags along with her mom on various other network shows (like Today in 2018 above) and media outlets.
Whether it be in a studio, on the road, the red carpet, or at home, Jade is always the constant in whatever Giada De Laurentiis is cooking. "2nd annual film festival tmrw on #GiadaEntertains...Jade made a special video this year! & I made candy popcorn, lemon honey chicken skewers, eggplant dip & Italian sodas!", Giada posted on Instagram. "Sunday 11am EST on @foodnetwork... will post the full videos on my FB after the episode!"
On Giada's lifestyle blog, Giadzy, Jade is a permanent fixture. "Tmrw @ 4pm PST....doing my first LIVE cooking class on @thegiadzy! It's free!," Giada announced on Instagram. "Sign up at the link in my bio... Jade & I are making her fav chicken parm sandwiches!"
Jade has lived her entire life in front of the camera, making us believe she's destined to have her own show one day.