Lidia Bastianich – Net Worth 2024, Biography, Personal Life, Professional Career, and Everything
Lidia Bastianich is a celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur who has established herself in the culinary world through her television shows, restaurants, and other ventures. Since 1998, she has regularly contributed to public television cooking shows.
She made a footprint in the culinary industry, specializing in Italian and Italian-American cuisine. Her television shows include Lidia’s Italian Table, Lidia’s Italy, Lidia’s Family Table, and Lidia’s Kitchen.
Let’s explore Lidia Bastianich’s net worth, personal life, professional career, and more.
Lidia Bastianich Personal Details |
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| Real Name | Lidia Giuliana Matticchio |
| Profession | celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur |
| Date of Birth | February 21, 1947 |
| Age | 77 years |
| Birthplace | Pula, Yugoslavia |
| Parents | Erminia and Vittorio |
| Spouse | Felice “Felix” Bastianich (m. 1966; div. 1998) |
| Children | Joe Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali |
| Siblings | Franco Matticchio |
| Net worth | Estimated $16 million |
| Official Website | lidiasitaly.com |
| Instagram account | https://www.instagram.com/lidiabastianich/?hl=en |
Net Worth 2024
As of 2024, Lidia’s net worth is estimated at around $16 million. She earned most of her wealth through restaurants, television shows, and cookbooks. Throughout her career, she published numerous cookbooks.
Early Life
Lidia was born to Pula and Yugoslavia Matticchio on February 21, 1947, in Pola, Istria. She grew up in Yugoslavia with her brother Franco until 1956. After that, she and her brother escaped to Trieste with their mother, pretending they were visiting their sick aunt. Later, her father joined them. Soon, they became refugees at Risiera di San Sabba, a refugee camp.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDtIpE2s1Db/?hl=en
In a television documentary, Lidia revealed that a wealthy Triestine family hired her mother as a cook-housekeeper and her father as a limousine driver in that refugee camp. After two years, in 1958, their applications for displaced persons were approved, and they emigrated to the United States, where they settled in Astoria, Queens.
Lidia started her part-time job at 14 at the Walken’s Bakery, which Christopher Walken’s parents owned. After graduating high school, she started her full-time job at a pizzeria on the Upper West Side.
Professional Career
In 1971, Lidia and her husband, Felice, opened their first restaurant, Buonavia, in Forest Hills, Queens, where she served as hostess. They hired the best Italian-American chef for their restaurant and created recipes from popular Italian restaurants. In 1972, she started to take training as the assistant chef at Buonavia and added traditional Istrian dishes to their menu.
After the success of Buonavia, they opened their second restaurant, Villa Secondo, in Queens, which increased their popularity and started them giving live cooking demonstrations. After the death of Lidia’s father in 1981, they sold their Queens restaurants and bought a small brownstone in Manhattan, which contained a pre-existing restaurant.
They made $750,000 worth of renovations and opened a new restaurant, Felidia, which helped to earn them popularity, and The New York Times gave the restaurant three stars. In 1993, Lidia partnered with her son and opened a restaurant, Becco, in the Theater District in Manhattan. It was a success, and they opened additional restaurants, Lidia’s Kansas City and Lidia’s Pittsburgh, in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
In 1993, Lidia appeared in an episode of Julia Child’s show Julia Child: Cooking With Master Chefs. She began her television series, Lidia’s Italian Table, in 1998. She also hosted several public television series, including Lidia’s Italy, Lidia’s Family Table, Lidia’s Kitchen, and Lidia’s Italy in America. In 2011, she hosted a one-hour special, Lidia Celebrates America. In 2000, she served as a celebrity judge on MasterChef USA.
Personal Life
Lidia married Felice “Felix” Bastianich in 1966. They first met at her sixteenth birthday party, and he was also an Istrian Italian immigrant. The couple shared two children, a son and a daughter. They divorced in 1998, and Felice transferred his share in their business to their children.
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