Rachael Ray openly admits that she has no formal chef training, yet that hasn't stopped her from becoming one of America's most loved 2013 and hated 2013 Food Network personalities. Ray's EVOO, a short term for extra-virgin olive oil, became so popular it was added to the Oxford American College Dictionary in 2007.

Though her Oprah-backed talk show is still on the air, you don't hear much about Rachael Ray these days. For years she has been in the spotlight and not always for the best reasons, which might be why her star is beginning to fade...

But you can't deny the unbelievable way her career took off, and it all started when she was young.

Growing Up In The Kitchen

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Rachael Ray was born and raised in 1968, in upstate New York. Her parents are of Italian, Welsh, Scottish, and French descent. Early in her life, Ray's family owned and operated three restaurants on Cape Cod.

Later in her youth, Ray's mother Elsa helped open and manage several restaurants. A working mother, Elsa often brought her children to work with her and put them to work in the kitchen. This upbringing would affect Ray in ways they couldn't have imagined.