What These Famous Chefs Look Like Without Makeup

It doesn't matter if you're a movie star, a chef, or a personal trainer, if your choice of profession includes the moniker "celebrity" in its title, there's an expectation of constantly-coiffed perfection. As such, chefs who spend time much of their time in front of the camera are usually dolled up with thick makeup, fake eyelashes, and perfectly curled hair — a feat considering the challenge of maintaining perfect makeup and hair when you're spending so much time standing in front of steaming hot stoves. 

But in the age of social media, #nomakeup hashtags, and government-forced home quarantine, celebrities of all kinds — including TV's most popular chefs — are taking to Instagram and Facebook to share their best in-kitchen tips completely makeup-free. While you might be surprised how unrecognizable some of your favorite celebrity chefs are sans makeup, it's actually refreshing to realize how many of them embrace a natural look, both on and off camera. 

Cat Cora has hosted, co-hosted, and served as a guest judge for some of TV's most popular cooking and food shows including Iron Chef America and My Kitchen Rules. Obviously, with that much air time, she's accustomed to professionally-done makeup and hair, generally preferring a low-key, natural approach with loose curls and just enough makeup to look "done." But when she's cooking at home and sharing her masterpieces on her Instagram page, she's more likely to be makeup-free than all dolled up. Even her clothing choices are refreshingly casual, preferring hoodies and sweats with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail. 

It makes sense, too — with six sons and a wife vying for her attention in the house, who would have time to put on makeup? And the thing is, her strong jaw and high cheekbones make her recognizable no matter where she is or how she's dressed, but when she's makeup-free, she looks like just about any soccer mom on the block. 

Chef Anne Burrell, who served as a sous chef on the Food Network's Iron Chef America and as a co-host for the network's Worst Cooks in America, is known for her shock of spiky, bleach-blonde hair and her bold makeup choices, including well-defined eyeliner and bright, bold lipstick. But like many chefs, when she's at home, she favors an all-natural look she's not afraid to share on her social media pages. And like pretty much everyone forced to stay home during the 2020 quarantine, she seemed to embrace going au-naturale without a hint of foundation or coverup to help hide a few lines and wrinkles (you know, those totally normal things that come with life and age!). 

And really, Burrell can get away without using makeup. Her look is eye-catching and her strong features are unmistakeable — Burrell looks like Burrell no matter how much "help" she seeks from cosmetics. 

Maybe it's because Sara Moulton's on-camera roles began in 1997 (she worked as food editor for Good Morning America and hosted several Food Network shows in the network's early years) when television lacked the wrinkle-enhancing addition of high-definition cameras, but Moulton has always favored a more natural, low-key makeup look. 

She might play up her eyebrows a little more for the camera, and certainly, she applies foundation and highlighter to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but all-in-all, her makeup-free appearance is almost identical to her made-up look. Sure, there's that clear difference in her cheekbone highlights and blush with a full face of makeup, but otherwise, her makeup-free face is practically the same. Either way, the warm and fun attitude she's cultivated and shared with audiences for decades always shines through. And it's always refreshing to see women of all ages embrace their own appearance without getting done up. Being a celebrity chef doesn't have to mean looking like a Kardashian. 

It doesn't matter if Columbian-American celebrity chef, Ingrid Hoffman, is wearing makeup or not — her natural beauty belies the fact that she was born in 1965, putting her well into her 50s. But true to her background in modeling and acting, the host of Simply Delicioso is almost never photographed out without makeup. Her normal appearance is "full face" with foundation, highlighter, blush, eyeshadow, mascara, and, of course, on-trend lipstick. To top it all off, her hair is always perfectly done with soft waves framing her face. 

The exception? Apparently, scuba diving, an experience she chronicled on Instagram in 2018 — pretty much the only makeup-free picture she's every shared to her social media pages. To be fair, waterproof eye makeup is kind of the worst — going without was clearly the better option. And really, her perfect eyebrows and dark eyelashes look great with or without makeup. She should consider going au-naturale more often. 

If you know Carla Hall, you probably know her as co-host of the food-centered talk show, The Chew, a gig she landed after gaining popularity with viewers as a contestant on the 5th and 8th seasons of Bravo's Top Chef. She's loved for her big personality and easy laugh (and her delicious recipes), but her big hair, bold lips, and wild glasses are all a part of her well-cultivated look — something she takes seriously. 

While it's not unusual for Hall to tone down her makeup when posting to social media, it is a bit unusual for her to go completely makeup-free. She tends to prefer a little bit of eye makeup, and maybe some lip gloss or nude lipstick when she's sharing content with her fans. But when Hall decides to nix the makeup completely, it's obvious she's still the same Hall — beautiful and glowing from the inside-out. 

John Legend hit the jackpot when Chrissy Tiegen agreed to marry him. Sure, he's a celebrity in his own right, but Tiegen is a supermodel, TV personality, and best-selling cookbook author of the titles Cravings and Cravings: Hungry for More. And clearly, with or without makeup, the model of Thai-descent is a bombshell. You don't need lipgloss, highlighter, and dark, smoky cat-eyes to turn heads if you have the cheekbones and perfect skin of Teigen. And like Gwenyth Paltrow, part of what makes Tiegen so popular is she truly loves to share her day-to-day life with her followers and fans on social media. This includes lots of makeup-free photos of her with her kids in the swimming pool, at the beach, and while hanging out with friends. 

It's almost hard to imagine why such a natural beauty takes the time to apply makeup at all when she can obviously pull off the makeup-free look so well.