Chef Sandra Lee Rose to Fame on Charm and Cool Whip. Now She ’s Taking on Cancer

Sandra Lee, the creator of the Semi-Homemade brand of cookbooks, magazines and TV shows and a person who leaves nothing to chance, is sitting in a high-ceilinged ballroom on Wall Street on a rainy evening the weekend after Thanksgiving, listening to a local official present her with a tribute. But, sincere as the speech is, it cannot be heard over the chatter of the members of the New York City independent-film community who have turned out for the IFP Gotham awards. This is not Lee’s usual audience. To New York’s indie-film elite, she is that woman who rose to fame on her ability to gussy up ready-made food into something that feels like a home-cooked dinner on the Food Network. Rachel Weisz, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke are among the assembled throng–it’s probably more of a Padma Lakshmi crowd. Still, when Lee rises to give her acceptance speech, the room falls quiet. Lee, 52, is being honored with a Made in New York award for her film Rx: Early Detection, a Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee, an HBO documentary in which she chronicled her 2015 treatment for breast cancer. It’s a brave film, in that it lets viewers see many of the more gory parts of getting a double mastectomy, and some of the less glorious parts of being Sandra Lee. That she can work this room–indeed that she is even in this room–is testament to Lee’s unlikely journey from marketer of DIY home decor to award-winning TV host and author of 27 books to politically c...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized celebrity Source Type: news