The Truth About Bobby Flay's Daughter, Sophie
Unless you're a die hard Food Network fan (or a huge fan of Bobby Flay) there's a good chance that you aren't familiar with Sophie Flay. While Sophie pops up on Flay's social media and has appeared on a couple of her dad's shows, she has remained under the radar for most of her life. All of that is about to change in the near future, though. The 20-something is slowly starting to make waves of her own and is building up a fan base that might one day rival her famous dad's.
Fresh out of college, the young Flay's career is already off to an impressive start. She's not exactly following in her dad's footsteps, but Sophie is making her mark on the entertainment world in a different way and, at this rate, will soon be a household name. Here's everything that you need to know about Bobby Flay's daughter, Sophie.
She's an only child
Bobby Flay's love life has been rough, to say the least. The chef has been married three times (so far), first to fellow chef Debra Ponzek in 1991, then to former Food Network host Kate Connelly in 1995, and finally to actress Stephanie March in 2005. All of his marriages have ended in divorce, and it was only his second marriage, to Connelly, that produced any children. Connelly gave birth to Flay's only child, Sophie, in 1996.
Judging from Flay's Instagram account, he and his daughter have quite a close bond, and Sophie seems to enjoy the one-on-one attention that comes with being an only child. The father and daughter frequently post pictures on social media of themselves together. A 2017 Instagram post from the famous chef on Sophie's 21st birthday reads, "To the most amazing daughter of all time." The strong relationship Flay has with his daughter is serious parenting goals.
Her dad says she makes parenting "easier than it could be"
Sophie was kept out of the spotlight for much of her childhood. From all appearances, her childhood was a normal one — or at least as normal as it's possible to be when your dad is an international celebrity. In 2013, the father and daughter appeared on Rachael Ray in what was the then-17 year old's first talk show appearance. When Ray asked Flay if he was a tough dad, he said, "I'm the dad, she's the daughter, so in some ways I'm the pushover and she kind of knows that. But I have to say, to her credit, she makes parenting a lot easier than it could be, because she's a great kid."
Sophie chimed in, adding that her dad gives her a lot of freedom, but that he can be a little protective. "I know that one of your main rules is to never get on a motorcycle, so I will never do that," she said.
She's comfortable in front of the camera
While Sophie might not have grown up in the public eye, it's clear she still inherited some natural on-air talent from her dad because she's totally comfortable in front of the camera. As a student at the University of Southern California, she had her own segment on the school's television show, The Buzz. On Sounds with Sophie Flay, the budding host interviewed guests with poise and professionalism that went beyond her young years.
The broadcast journalism major also completed several internships during her time in college, including with the NBC Sports Group during the 2016 summer Olympics and the 2018 winter Olympics. As part of her internship, Sophie covered a few stories of her own, proving that talent runs deep in the Flay family. According to her LinkedIn profile, Sophie has also interned for The Walt Disney Company, Dash Radio, and NBC News. That's a pretty good resume for someone who is just getting started in her career!
If you listen to Spotify, you might recognize her voice
In addition to on-camera work, Sophie also lends her talents to voiceover work. While at the University of Southern California, Sophie was a host on the school's radio network, KXSC. If you're a Spotify listener, you might have heard Sophie's voice without even realizing that it belonged to the daughter of a famous chef. Starting in May 2016, she began to work for Spotify as an ad voice track artist. According to the description of her Spotify job responsibilities on her LinkedIn profile, her job is "Recording ad scripts for Spotify Premium to be played on the app worldwide."
Her upbeat but soothing voice can be heard on those ads that sneak in between songs on the streaming service. If you don't have Spotify, you can still check out an example of Sophie's work on her demo reel, which includes one of the ads that features her voice.
She's also got some impressive writing chops, plus another surprising skill
Sophie Flay is amazing on camera and at doing voiceover work, but her impressive list of talents doesn't end there. While her internships and work experience to date place an emphasis on her broadcasting skills, Sophie is just as eloquent when she's putting pen to paper. While at the University of Southern California, she wrote for the school's website, USC Annenberg Media.
Between internships, conducting interviews, and writing, you'd think her college career wouldn't have left her free time for very much else, but Sophie did find room in her schedule to indulge yet another of her many talents. She was a member of The Sirens, an all-female a capella group where she got to showcase her impressive pipes. It looks like Sophie has several potential careers she can choose from, but given her incredible talents as a soloist, she might want to consider going into music.
She's a budding sous chef
For the time being, at least, Sophie seems to be determined to carve out a name for herself without relying on her famous dad. While she appears to be pursuing a career in media, it seems that this is as far as she wants to go in her father's footsteps. That doesn't mean that she doesn't have some skills in the kitchen, though. Cooking might not be her chosen field, but she's helped her dad out before and looks to be quite at home doing it.
According to the website for Flay's New York City based restaurant, Gato, Sophie "does NOT want to be a chef," but she does enjoy bringing her friends to her dad's many restaurants. While it would be nice to see Sophie follow her mom and her dad into the food entertainment business, you have to respect her desire to pave her own way in the work force.
She flies under the radar
Sophie grew up out of the limelight, and she seems to be determined to keep it that way — at least while she's still job hunting. She graduated from college in 2018 and seems to be doing her best to fly under the radar while still maintaining enough of a social media presence to keep in contact with friends and potential employers. While many people her age have embarrassing social media posts from their past that they would like to forget, Sophie maintains a tight media presence. Her LinkedIn profile details her work and education history, but doesn't include a picture.
None of her social media profiles are verified in spite of her famous last name, which is another sign that she's not trying to ramp up her online presence. She jokes about her follower count on her Instagram profile where her bio reads "My cat has more followers than me."
Her TV appearances are sporadic
Sophie has been popping up on television here and there for the past few years, but her appearances have been few and far between. According to her IMDb profile, her first official television show appearance was back in 2011 when she was on an episode of America's Next Great Restaurant. She has also made appearances on Rachael Ray, Brunch at Bobby's, and Beat Bobby Flay where she made an appearance in one episode and returned a few years later as a judge on the cooking competition.
Sophie only has a handful of cable TV appearances under her belt, but she has hosted her own mini-series. Unless you're on Snapchat, though, you probably missed it. She hosted the exclusive show with her dad back in 2015 for Food Network's Snapchat Discover. Per Snapchat rules, each episode, which featured cooking recipes, was only online for a day before it disappeared from the app.
The legacy of Sophie's Salad
If you're a fan of Bobby Flay, you might have noticed that one of his recipes popular is called Sophie's Chopped Salad in honor of his daughter. The salad recipe has five stars on the Food Network website, but that's not the only place you can find Sophie's name.
The chef has loved horse racing for most of his life and, as a teenager, would regularly visit the racetrack with his grandfather. When he became rich and famous, it was natural, then, that Flay bought his own horses. He now owns more than a dozen horses, including More Than Real, the winner of the 2010 Breeders' Cup, as well as Creator, the 2016 winner of the Belmont Stakes. His first horse, however, will always hold a special place in his heart. Purchased in the early 2000s, he named it after his daughter as well as her namesake recipe: Sophie's Salad. It might not seem flattering to name a horse after someone you cherish, but to a horse lover like Flay it's the highest compliment.
She's all about dessert
Sophie might have had a healthy salad named after her by her celebrity dad, but when it comes to her own personal tastes she is all about the sweet stuff. On an episode of Rachael Ray, Flay joked that his job on Thanksgiving is not to carve the turkey but to ask Sophie what dessert she wants and to make it for her. Sophie added that she and her dad sometimes make chocolate cream pie, although one year Flay mixed things up with a Boston cream pie. "I'm hoping that's our new tradition because I ate it for breakfast every day," she said.
Sophie loves dessert so much that, at the 2018 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival, she and her dad hosted a late-night dessert event for attendees of the festival. The party featured delectable sweets from some of South Florida's tastiest places.