Lives in the Adirondacks with her dog, a cat and two fishes. Has a brother named Emmanuel (Manny) and a sister named Maria. Moved to upstate New York when she was in first grade. Her family owned several restaurants called the Carvery, in and around Falmouth and Mashpee, Massachusetts.

After college, she began work as candy manager at Macy's Marketplace in New York. She was promoted to the fresh food section, then became a chef and buyer at a gourmet store. She moved out of the City and, while working in a shop in Albany, she held cooking lessons in the store, which caught the attention of a local television station, and became 30 Minute Meals segments. She has authored several cookbooks including "Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals" and "The Open House Cookbook". She garnered national attention from a segment on the The Today Show show during a blizzard.



Has a plaque in her home that reads, "Martha Stewart doesn't live here". Lives in a small, rustic, lakeside cabin in the town of Lake Luzerne in the Adirondacks with her husband, John M. Cusimano, and her mother, Elsa Scuderi. Her mother was the food supervisor for several Howard Johnson's. Rachael even was a waitress at Howard Johnson. Engaged to musician John M. Cusimano - wedding in September 2005. Rachael has endorsed products for Price Chopper and Burger King. Has a magazine called Every Day with Rachael Ray. Gets her love of food "with garlic and oil" from her mother, Elsa Scuderi, and her grandfather, Emmanuel. Was once a manager at Mr. Brown's Pub in the 5-star Sagamore Hotel in the Adirondacks. On the December 5, 2006 episode of her syndicated television show, "Rachael Ray" (2006), Rachael was presented with a certificate by Erin McKean, the editor-in-chief of American Dictionaries, which declares that "EVOO" (extra-virgin olive oil) will be added to the 2007 Oxford American College Dictionary. Rachael began using this term on her shows on the Food Network - after a while 'extra-virgin olive oil' is a lot to say repeatedly. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $16 million. Proceeds from the sale of her book, "Yum-o!: The Family Cookbook", will benefit the Yum-o! Organization, her foundation designed to empower kids and families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking [2008]. Boston Red Sox fan.