Paula Ann Hiers was born on January 19, 1947, in Albany, Georgia, the daughter of Earl and Corrie Hiers. She lost both parents by age 23, a devastating blow that led to years of depression and agoraphobia. She channeled her grief into cooking, learning Southern recipes from her grandmother, Irene Paul. 

In 1989, Deen launched The Bag Lady, a home-based catering company with her sons delivering meals. In 1991, she opened a restaurant in a Best Western Hotel lobby; it eventually grew into The Lady & Sons, one of Savannah’s most beloved dining institutions. She launched her TV career on the Food Network in 2002 with Paula’s Home Cooking, leading to multiple shows and a reported peak annual income of $17 million by 2012.

In June 2013, a deposition revealed she had used a racial slur, and Food Network chose not to renew her contract. She lost approximately $12 million in annual endorsement revenue. Despite the fallout, Deen launched PaulaDeenNetwork.com in 2014 and continued publishing cookbooks. She also starred in the 2025 documentary Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, which re-examines her public downfall.