Paul Hollywood

Paul Hollywood met Alexandra in Cyprus while he was working as a head baker at a five-star hotel and she was a scuba diving instructor. They married in Cyprus in 1998 and have one son, Josh, who was born in October 2001.

Hollywood and Alexandra separated in 2013 after he had an affair with his The American Baking Competition co-judge Marcela Valladolid. They later reconciled, separated again in November 2017 and divorced in July 2019. Hollywood married Melissa Spalding in Cyprus in September 2023.

Hollywood comes from a family of bakers. He began working at his father's bakery as a teenager after studying sculpture at the Wallasey School of Art, and later worked in bakeries on Merseyside and in York.

He became head baker at hotels including The Dorchester, the Chester Grosvenor and Spa, and the Cliveden Hotel. He also worked at resorts in Cyprus and travelled through Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan to investigate traditional baking methods, including baking in the desert at a Bedouin encampment.

Hollywood joined The Great British Bake Off as a judge when the programme launched in 2010. His direct judging style and partnership with Mary Berry helped establish the show's original judging team. When the programme moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2016, Hollywood stayed with the series while Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins left.

He has presented programmes including Paul Hollywood's Bread, Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds, Paul Hollywood City Bakes and Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip. His food travel series have included Paul Goes to Hollywood, a 3,000-mile culinary journey across the United States, Paul Hollywood Eats Japan and Paul Hollywood Eats Mexico. He has also judged The American Baking Competition and The Great American Baking Show.

Hollywood's first major book, 100 Great Breads, was published in 2005 and won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Top Bread and Pastry Book. His later books include How to Bake, Paul Hollywood's Bread, Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds, Paul Hollywood's British Baking, The Weekend Baker and A Baker's Life.

In 2008, he created an almond and Roquefort sourdough made with specialist ingredients and described as the most expensive bread in Britain. He has also contributed to food magazines, advised and trained through the Flour Advisory Board, and presented the live theatre tour Paul Hollywood: Get Your Bake On! in 2014.

Hollywood began motor racing in 2015, making his debut in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Andrew Howard in the Britcar Trophy Championship. He later competed in the Aston Martin festival at Le Mans, the GT Cup and the British GT championship, and raced with drivers including Jonny Adam and Jamie Chadwick.

In 2017, Hollywood won his class at the Dunlop endurance race at Silverstone and finished second in class in his first 24-hour race at the Circuit of the Americas. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to baking and broadcasting.