Rachael Ray's Health Woes Over the Years

Rachael Ray has been one of TV's most beloved celebrity chefs for decades. Behind her sunny disposition and cheerful attitude, however, the 30-Minute Meals guru, has dealt with her fair share of health problems over the years — beginning in childhood.

As it turns out, one of Ray's most signature features — her raspy voice — is actually a result of suffering from croup as a child.

"I lose my voice a lot," the Rachael Ray Show host told People back in 2006. "I had a lot of croup as a kid so I don't have the strongest vocal cords to begin with. I went to a voice doctor [who] taught me exercises for my throat and to cut back a little on the caffeine."

While living and working in New York City pre-fame, Ray had a rough go of it. In a 2005 profile on the cook, the New York Times cited "a bad breakup, a broken ankle and a violent mugging in front of her Queens apartment that left her scraped and shaken" as the reason Ray moved back home to upstate New York.

Though she ultimately came back to Manhattan for her TV career — and has been happily married to husband John Cusimano since 2005 — Ray's health problems continued.

In 2008, after rumors spread that the daytime talk show host had been diagnosed with throat cancer, her rep spoke out to deny the story — but to also share that Ray was set to have "very minor surgery" on one of her vocal cords.

"Rachael is the picture of health," her spokesperson, Charlie Dougiello, told People at the time, adding: "She is having very minor surgery to remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord. It's a common in-and-out procedure."

Ray's health once again made headlines in September 2024, when fans began sharing their concerns about the A-list chef, whom many felt was "slurring" her words in recent TV appearances and Instagram videos. While dozens of social media users speculated that Ray could be suffering from anything from a stroke to Bell's palsy, her rep had "no comment" when asked about the Food Network star's health by TMZ.