Padma Lakshmi Got Candid About Baring (Almost) All in a Recent Photoshoot & We’re in Awe

While many fans might know Padma Lakshmi as the longtime host of Top Chef, it’s no secret that she got her start in the industry as a model. So, of course, we’re always excited when she jumps back into her modeling shoes.

Most recently, Lakshmi was announced as one of the models of the 2025 Pirelli Calendar, an annual trade calendar featuring some stunning celebrity photoshoots.

In her picture, Lakshmi is halfway into the water at the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami wearing a sheer white T-shirt (see the picture HERE!).

“I will tell you, I didn’t feel that vulnerable, personally,” Lakshmi told People about the shoot. “I may have 30 years ago, but I am fully in command of my body and how I look.”

Overall, Lakshmi is proud and grateful to have been invited. “I really just was so happy to be a part of it and I felt beautiful,” she said. “I felt cared for. I felt safe. I felt elegant. The pose in the water is really … it’s one of serenity. I think that’s how I feel at this point in my life, and that’s a great feeling, which I didn’t always have.”

Lakshmi then talked about how excited she is to show the stunning picture to her 14-year-old daughter Krishna.

“I’m very happy to show her these photos,” she said. “They’re beautiful. I want her to see womanhood in all its stages, so I’m very free with my body at home. I’m also very honest and blunt with her, but I always have been in an age-appropriate way.”

Alongside Lakshmi, Perelli has a series of celebrities gracing its pages. Among them are John Boyega, Jodie-Turner Smith, Hunter Schafer, Vincent Cassel, Simone Ashley and Jung Ho-yeon.

“They really captured the person and created beautiful timeless images,” photographer Ethan James Green said of the pictures in the official announcement. “That was a big part of what I wanted to achieve with my Calendar: to create something people can look back on in 20 to 30 years time that isn’t going to feel dated and hopefully will be referenced in the future.”

“The world has changed so much since the last time Pirelli had a really sexy Calendar,” he continued. “I was excited to explore how we see beauty now and who is considered beautiful within the classic Pirelli Cal arena – in the studio and on the beach.”

Looking at these pictures of Lakshmi, we’re confident he’s achieved just that!

Before you go, click here to see celebrity women over 50 whose bikini photos are blowing our minds.