It’s been less than a week now since acclaimed cook and TV host was found dead early Friday in his France hotel room just outside Strasbourg. It was an apparent suicide by hanging and it was his colleague-turned-best friend and fellow celebrity chef Eric Ripert who found him unresponsive in his room, hung by the belt of his bathrobe. Bourdain had been in France shooting for his CNN series, Parts Unknown.
Date of Birth: June 25, 1956
Date of Death: June 8, 2018 (aged 61)
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
The renowned culinary king recalled in his 2000 memoir that his lifelong affair with food began when he was a fourth-grader in the 1960s. He had embarked on a luxury ocean voyage with his family aboard the Queen Mary, en route to his paternal ancestral home in France. At one of their dinners, a waiter ceremoniously spooned vichyssoise into his bowl and the cold, velvety soup was a revelation for the young starlet. As a teenager, he finally decided he wanted to be a chef; he dropped out of Vassar College and went to attend a Culinary Institute.
Anthony Michael Bourdain was a successful chef then gained more fame after he authored the New York Times bestseller Kitchen Confidential. In the words of Barack Obama, the former drug addict taught us about food – but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together; to make us a little less afraid of the unknown. His love of great adventure, new friends, fine foods, his remarkable stories and unique talents will forever remain in our hearts. Keep reading to know all there is to know about the family of the late original rock star of the culinary world.
Gladys Bourdain (mother)
Gladys was majorly a housewife until she returned to copy editing when Tony was a teenager. If there was anyone who would have been shocked at the news of Bourdain’s death, it would definitely be his mother. She had spoken to her son on mothers’ day and she had no worries whatsoever from the tone of his voice.
She explained sadly that she had no idea her feisty and very talented son may have been contemplating ending his life; the devastated Bourdain told The Times that her dear son was absolutely the last person in the world she would ever have dreamed would do a thing like this. He was super wealthy and was more successful than he ever envisioned but his friend Eric Ripert in interview stated that Tony had been in a dark mood few days before he took his life.
Pierre Bourdain (father)
Date of Birth: December 12, 1929
Date of Death: April 15, 1987 (aged 57)
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Pierre initially worked two jobs; as a salesman and as a floor manager in a record store. He later scored a big gig with Columbia records as a music executive in the classical-music industry. The nature of his job meant free records for his son who was a huge music fan at the time. Pierre was a great father to his sons until he died of a heart attack at 57 in his home.
Christopher Bourdain (younger brother from same parents)
He is the only sibling to the Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations host. Chris is quite different from his older brother, while Tony was busy with food; Christopher had a long career in international banking.
Nancy Putkoski (former spouse)
Duration of Marriage: 1985 – 2005 (20 years)
Nancy was the first wife to the beloved TV host. They started off as high school sweethearts and were ultimately married for 20 years before their divorce, citing distance as the driving force. He wanted to travel the world but his wife wanted vacations just once a year.
Bourdain described her as the love of his life and as much as he didn’t mind being in the public face, Nancy had no interest in being on television. For two decades, both soul mates were together but never had any child because Tony didn’t think he would make a great dad.
Tony became suicidal after his divorce. He dealt with the pain by self-medicating and after a while, he didn’t value his life and he acted accordingly, resorting to cigarettes and drugs. He mentioned one time how divorce was the worst thing in the world for him, adding that it was just a terrible thing when a relationship that great ends.
Ottavia Busai (former spouse)
Duration of Marriage: April 20, 2007 – 2016; separated (9 years)
MMA fighter Ottavia and Bourdain were set up on a blind date by his best friend Eric Ripert. In Tony’s words, his friend most likely saw two dysfunctional people with little spare time but he most definitely did not anticipate that they would fall in love, decide to have a child and even get married.
After their split, the late celebrity chef explained that they were both on amicable terms and there was no drama between them as they co-parented their daughter gracefully.
Asia Argento (girlfriend)
Duration of Relationship: 2016 – June 8, 2018; till his death (2 years)
Date of Birth: September 20, 1975
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
At the time of his death, the famed cook was dating Italian model, actress, director and activist Asia Argento. They met in 2016 at a filming for a TV show (she was one of the directors) shortly after he separated from his second wife and in no time, the grown pair started dating. She was devastated to hear about her boyfriend’s death and she stated on her social media page that Bourdain had been her love, her rock and her protector.
Ariane Bourdain (daughter with Ottavia Busia)
Year of Birth: 2007
Anthony was opportuned to father a child for a little over a decade. Some years back, he explained how glorious it felt being the father of a little girl. The acclaimed chef said his daughter warms his heart so much each day, she loved to cook with him in the kitchen and they made several dishes together while she’s on her little apron. Little Ariane was in a few words the joy of her father’s life.
Together with his ex-wife, they worked to generally keep their daughter out of the spotlights except for proud moments when the gifted storyteller couldn’t help but mention her in interviews. Just recently, Ariane had her concert and she wore the boots her father got her. Ottavia was indeed proud of her daughter, calling her very strong and brave.
Facebook
Twitter