Ep 42. Rachel Ray

At 38 years old, Rachael Ray seems to have burst out of nowhere to be everywhere. But Ray struggled at first. She was a small-town Sicilian girl who moved to New York and worked at the Macy's candy counter. She then became a buyer for gourmet grocery stores and started teaching people how to make great meals in record-breaking time. Discovered by the local news in Albany, N.Y., and then by the Today show, Ray landed a Food Network show, 30 Minute Meals. The public fell in love with her perky manner and can-do spirit, and in rapid succession she landed two more Food Network shows, her own magazine, cookbooks, and a daily talk show.