Heidi Van Pelt is another celebrity who attained fame through marriage to Noah Taran Smith, the successful American actor known for Home Improvement. While they made the waves due to their age difference, it turns out that Pelt is a successful vegan chef and entrepreneur. Through her career exploits, the Missouri-born cofounded Playfood with her ex-husband and later Fud with her second husband, Jerimiah Rozzo-Belle.
Since her divorce from Smith, Pelt has found a way of living her life away from curiosity by expanding her chef work and other business activities. Moreso, she is a proud mother to her two children, Nolan Eric Smith and Vox.
Her Life Before Fame
As you would easily find, Heidi Van Pelt was born on July 11, 1968, in Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was a child and as a result, she was raised as a single child by her mother, Marsha Duncan. Marsha took several jobs to support her young daughter and this included being a city clerk.
Understandably, her mother’s several businesses meant she had less time to be with her and this made Heidi have little attention from her mother. Also, this affected her education as she attended two high schools. First, she attended BluePrint High School and later moved to Oak Park High School. She proceeded to college after her high school graduation but like her previous experience, she went through several colleges including
- Stephens College: she enrolled to study design and fashion
- University of Missouri: she enrolled to study German and Philosophy
- University of Washington: she enrolled to study Russian in preparation for a CIA program
Despite going through these schools, Pelt did not complete her studies. She came so close to finishing her program at Washington University but dropped out a semester before her graduation.
Heidi Van Pelt is a Vegan Chef and Entrepreneur
56-year-old Heidi Van Pelt is a vegan chef and entrepreneur at the moment. She had launched into this line of business after several failed attempts at other endeavors. Looking back, Pelt started out in the entertainment sector after she failed to join the CIA. Apparently, she founded Emergent Films, a Los Angeles media company that concentrates on movie production. Soon enough, she left that business and moved back to Washington to start all over again when Emergent Films did not work out. To make ends meet, she took numerous odd jobs that involved movie production.
While things did not work as planned, she developed an interest in vegetarianism. This new interest was the turning point in her career direction as it led her back to school. She received online training and this earned her a certificate as a Nutritional Counselor. Ever since she discovered this new path, Heidi went all in and never turned back.
Notably, she used her experience at nutrition clinics and animal rights organizations as an animal lover. Unsurprisingly, when she saw an opening for a vegan chef on the midwestern radio, she did not hesitate to apply. With her past background in the media and a passion for animals, she took up the segment Raw Health. Thankfully, it became a hit and a fan staple among vegetarians.
Her Marriage to Smith was Highly Controversial
Considering the new career path that exposed her to a lot of people, it was not long before she met her future husband, Noah Taran Smith through a mutual friend, Zachary Ty Bryan. At the time he introduced the pair, Heidi was in another relationship but it was just a matter of time before they became a romantic item.
It would be recalled that Smith was a rising star who rose to acclaim through his role translation in the 90s sitcom, Home Improvement. In fact, he gained so much acclaim that earned an Academy Award in 1992.
This aside, their relationship caused lots of waves due to the twists involved. Considering that Heidi is 56 years old and Smith is 41, it meant that they have an age difference of 16 years. While it is not unusual for celebrities to have a huge age difference, theirs is quite unique since Smith was 17 years and a minor when they started dating.
Moving on, after they came back together in 2000, their love affair kicked off and Heidi moved in with his family two months later. In a twist, Smith and Heidi hid the truth about her age. When the truth eventually blew up, his family kicked her out and this prompted them to fasten their marriage process as they got married at a strip club on April 27, 2001.
See Also: Who Is Adam Friedland? Everything To Know About Him
She was Married for Only six Years
Despite the accusation that Heidi was after Taran’s trust fund of $1.5 million, they were able to pull through. Moreso, they welcomed their only child, a son named Nolan Eric Smith.
However, the marriage came crashing down six years later in 2007. Like many celebrity marriages, many reasons have been given for their failed marriage with the strongest being cheating allegations.
While both accused each other, Heidi alleged that Smith lived on the fast lane by partying and drinking so hard. Aside from this, he is said to have had clashes with the law. On his part, the actor alleged that Heidi was sleeping with girls as well as taking money from FoodPlay, a restaurant they co-owned, and putting it into her personal ventures.
Unlike past strains that they experienced in their relationship, this time around the marriage did not survive. During their divorce settlement, Heidi argued that Foodplay is her intellectual idea since it was her sweat that got the company to the level it was. During the two years that they fought over the business, it experienced decline and eventual collapse.
The Missouri-born Vegan has Since Moved on From her Past
Following her divorce, you may be curious to know what the vegan chef is up to. As it is, she is based in Kansas and still in the same line of business. Also, she gave love a chance again and got married to Jerimiah Rozzo-Belle. They share a son named Vox.
Aside from this, they co-founded a vegan restaurant named Fud in 2010 but the business lasted only a while before it was closed in 2017. While she alleged that the workers were stealing from the shop, her husband hinted that they were working towards ending the business relationship between him and Heidi.
Though they are yet to revive the business, there are indications that she is involved with advocacy against child abuse and mental ailment.
