Paul Hollywood

About

Paul John Hollywood (born 1 March 1966) is an English celebrity chef and television personality, widely known as a judge on The Great British Bake Off since 2010.
Hollywood began his career at his father’s bakery as a teenager and went on to serve as head baker at a number of British and international hotels. After returning from working in Cyprus, Hollywood appeared as a guest on a number of British television programmes on both BBC and ITV. After beginning his broadcast career in food programming, he diversified into other areas, including motoring.

Hollywood was born in 1966 in Wallasey, Cheshire, the son of bakery proprietor John F. Hollywood and Gillian M. Hollywood (née Harman). He was a pupil at The Mosslands School. Hollywood studied sculpture at the Wallasey School of Art based at Liscard Hall, but left to start work as a baker.
He first worked in his father’s bakery in York (the headquarters of a chain called Bread Winner, which eventually stretched all the way down the east coast from Aberdeen to Lincolnshire) and then in other bakeries on Merseyside. He eventually went on to become head baker at a number of hotels, including…