Paula Deen (born Paula Ann Hiers on January 19, 1947) is an American cook, restaurateur, writer, and Emmy Award-winning television personality.

Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns The Lady & Sons restaurant and runs it with her sons, Jamie and Bobby. She has also published four cookbooks. On her television shows and in her books and appearances, she uses the surname Deen from her first marriage.

Born in Albany, Georgia, Deen is a notable graduate of Albany High School. She married her first husband after graduating high school in 1965. Her parents both died by the time she was 23, and a resultant fear of death led to chronic agoraphobia. She was a proficient Southern cook, and used it to help deal with her condition. in 1986, she felt okay enough to take a job as a bank teller. She was robbed at gunpoint the next year, and that incident led her to deal with her agoraphobia head-on. After the family moved to Savannah in 1989, she decided to parlay her cooking experience into a clandestine catering service. She made sandwiches and other meals, and her sons delivered them.