A-list celebrity, Chrissy Teigen, is famous for more than just her laugh-out-loud social media posts. The supermodel, TV personality, author and mom is firmly in the spotlight, but who are her parents?
Chrissy Teigen was born in Delta, Utah to Ron Teigen, who is of Norwegian descent, and Vilailuck “Pepper” Teigen, who is Thai. Pepper lives with Chrissy and her singer husband, John Legend, whilst her father lives elsewhere. Her in-laws, through her marriage, are Phyllis and Ronald Stephens.
Read on for more information about Chrissy’s parents and her close-knit family.
Ron and Pepper
It was in Korat, Thailand that Pepper met Ron, an American electrician. At the time, Pepper was a single mother to a young daughter, Tina, and after falling in love, Ron brought them both back to America to start their lives together.
The couple moved to Snohomish, Washington after Chrissy was born, where they ran a tavern called Porky’s. Chrissy’s cookbook “Cravings” features recipes from both of her parents.
Though it’s common knowledge that Chrissy and her mother now have an incredible bond, and even live together, there was a period in Teigen’s teenage years when they hardly spoke.
Pepper explained to Vanity Fair that she had to return to Thailand to care for her parents, when Chrissy was 15, and stayed there for a couple of years. She remembered Chrissy and Tina not wanting to speak to her on the phone, resentful of her absence from their lives.
Any upset firmly in the past, Chrissy has an incredibly close relationship with her mom, who is ultra proud of her daughter. Chrissy told People Magazine, “We truly held hands in the mall until I was 17” while Pepper sung her daughter’s praises: “Chrissy is strong, but she can be soft and gentle,” says Pepper. “I’m grateful for how she turned out to be.”
As for her Dad, he got a tattoo of his daughter’s face in honor of her 30th birthday – serious dad points!
Living Arrangements
In 2018, Chrissy told Us Weekly, “So my mom lives with us. It just works for them. It’s a good family life. We’re all very close, very tight–knit”.
A constant presence on Teigen’s social media accounts, Pepper is incredibly active in her daughter and grandkid’s lives and Chrissy has said, “They’re really lucky to have Mom with us,” “and she gets to enjoy her life and her grandkids”.
Her father, despite living elsewhere, is similarly engaged in family life and visits the family all the time, according to Chrissy. Having lived separately for a while, it wasn’t a surprise when Ron filed for divorce in 2019, and it appears it hasn’t caused any bad blood.
Karen Valby, a freelancer for Vanity Fair, spoke to Teigen regarding the divorce and tweeted about the coming split: “‘Two Christmases!’ Chrissy said she told her parents, trying to make a joke. A marriage that was long more of a friendship is coming to an end. Life goes on.”
One Big Happy Family
As for John’s side of the family, they’re also part of the fun!
Pepper and John’s mother, Phyllis, have taken a trip to Thailand together, with Phyllis often appearing on Pepper’s Instagram feed. Speaking of the friendship between the pair, Chrissy told Vanity Fair, “My mother loves to take care of people,” while John added, “And my mother loves to be taken care of.”
On the cultural backgrounds of both his and Chrissy’s parents, John said, “Chrissy’s dad is white, her mother is Thai, both my parents are black and from Ohio. We’ve definitely got an interesting cultural mix for my kids to kind of experience from all their grandparents and aunts and uncles but I feel like it’s gone so well.”
Watch Chrissy and her mom cook together in the YouTube video below.
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