Paula Deen is celebrating her comeback with a new photoshoot and a new body. The culinary star posed with her sons, Bobby and Jamie, in September 2025 to take promotional photos for her documentary, “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story.” TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) says the film was directed by Bill Corben, and premiered at the festival on September 6. A wide release date is yet to be announced.
The 78-year-old looks dramatically more slim and trim since beginning her weight loss journey back in 2009 after a diabetes diagnosis. A 2024 Yahoo report says she detailed her diet on her website, writing, “Y’all, the choice was easy. And it turns out the changes haven’t been as hard as I imagined because I’ve been taking it at a turtle’s pace: slow and steady.”
GettyPaula Deen Before & After Weight Loss Transformation
Paula Deen’s fitness journey has been years in the making, and the kitchen queen looks better than ever in the September 2025 photoshoot. Below, compare her final look to her appearance on a talk show back in 2011. Although she has always possessed her signature sparkle, Deen looks super different in recent days.
GettySo how did Paula Deen lose the weight? Yahoo says a source revealed the grandmother of 11 changed her diet, and began consuming a bit less of her own recipes. While she has never strayed away from whipping up indulgent magic in the kitchen, the Georgia native now keeps more of an eye on what she eats.
Getty“She’s dropped a ton of weight, fifty pounds at least, by avoiding the bad carbs, and the butter and grease she’s known to cook with. She can still whip up a Southern-comfort meal with biscuits and gravy, desserts like peach cobbler and banana pudding or chocolate pound cake, but she’ll only take a small bite to taste and show her fans it’s really good,” they say the source revealed.
GettyThe story says the source went on to say, “She lives a very calm life, more modest than she was used to before the scandal that got her fired from Food Network. She’s humbler, and people have picked up on that. She’s gaining followers on her YouTube cooking show, she still has her restaurants and is churning out the cooking books.”
Paula Deen Broke Her Silence on Diabetes Diagnosis Back in 2012
13 years ago, the “Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook” author opened up to Clinton Kelly on “The Chew” about the beginnings of her health scare, per the Huffington Post. She said, “I think it’s been close to three years, Clinton. And it was really something that I had to digest.”
She also touched on the future of her legacy, saying, “When my life is over, and you hear my name, I hope you associate the word ‘hope’ with it.”
The same year, she became a spokeswoman for a diabetes drug, and said in an ad campaign video, “I have made simple changes in my life. Like cutting back on one of my favorite things. Sweet tea!”
I watched every episode of Home Cooking and I didn’t care about her personal views. People need to use their own common sense and realize she was raised in the south and developed her views over a very long time. And as time has changed so has she. Ignore all that stuff and realize she is an awesome chef.