With a magazine, daytime talk show, cookbooks, kitchenware line, and home collection, you can hardly walk into a Walmart—or even sit on your couch—without running into the Food Network star. Even if you aren't a Ray-niac, her acronyms have probably seeped into your brain at some point, and before you know it, you're asking someone to pass you the EVOO, or referred to a sandwich as a "sammie."
But, even with all of that exposure, there's still a lot to the 30-minute meals cook you probably don't know, like her celebrity crush, the one dish she still hasn't mastered and why she has no qualms about eating her pets' food.
1. She Loves Jumping Out of Planes.
Ray's such a fan of skydiving that she once invited a fan to jump out of a plane with her to help him get over his fear. "I am a skydiving freak. ... It is the most thrilling thing in the world," she told Vanessa Hudgens in 2012.
2. She Eats Pet Food Sometimes.
It's quality control, okay? Ray launched her own line of pet food, Dish, after pets were being poisoned by by products in their bagged food. She stands by the ingredients in her line so much that she has no issues sampling it herself. "It needed more salt for me, but it was delicious," she told Parade.
3. She's Got a Celebrity Girl Crush.
No, it's not Beyonce (though, to be clear, the two definitely don't have beef, and she isn't "Becky with the good hair," despite what some Bey fans initially thought). She's all about Tina Fey, according to Us Weekly.
4. She Won't Visit Montreal Ever Again.
As much as she loves the city, Ray made a vow to stop visiting it after Montreal banned people from owning pitbulls there. She herself owns a pitbull, and she loves the dog so much she often refers to it as her "daughter." "There is no such thing as a bad human. There's no such thing as an evil breed of dogs," she explained, elaborating on her stance. "It's ignorance and I'm filled with heartache and sadness."
5. She Can't Make Coffee.
Ray's known for making all kinds of dishes, but coffee isn't one of them. She's quick to admit that after all these years, she still can't make a decent cup.
6. She's a HUGE SXSW Fan.
Ray's attended the music-meets-film-meets-tech festival, SXSW, for the past 20 years straight, hosting a party with her husband for the past 9. "I fell in love with this city, because, to me, it was utopian," she explained in a Munchies podcast.
7. She Doesn't Want Her Name Plastered on Everything.
Though her magazine and TV show may bear her name, Ray doesn't want every product she sells to be heavily branded. "I try to design things that solve problems and are function driven, even if you dislike me or the rest of my work," she told the New York Business Journal. "I fight my own team [about branding items], because I don't want it to be about me, I want it to be about the products I created."
8. The Most Expensive Thing She Owns Is Her Record Player.
Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, are big indie music fans, boasting a massive record collection. It's so meticulously maintained that Ray vacuums her vinyl before playing it.
9. Food Network Initially Signed Her for $360,000.
After hearing her on a public radio show in 2001, the network signed her on with a $360,000 contract. Since then, as Ray's fame increased—and so has her business deals and product extensions—she's now worth an estimated $75 million, according to TheRichest.com.
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