Marcus Samuelsson Parents Are Ann Marie And Lennart Samuelsson
Sophia Sparks
Published Feb 01, 2026
Marcus Samuelsson was raised by his parents Ann Marie and Lennart Samuelsson. Marcus Samuelsson grew up in Ethiopia.
He studied at the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg and later moved to Switzerland and Austria, then came to the United States of America in 1994.
He worked at the Restaurant Aquavit in Manhattan located in New York, and at 24 years old, he was the executive chef at the restaurant.
After some time, he became the youngest to receive a three-star restaurant review at The New York Times. In 2003, the restauranter has entitled Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation.
Marcus wrote The Soul of a New Cuisine, which received the Best International Cookbook prize. He has written several other books, such as Street Food, Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, and En Smakresa.
He is the visiting professor at the International Culinary Science at the Umea University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts.
Over the years, he has worked in various positions and even served as a guest chef for the first state dinner of the presidency of Barack Obama.
He appeared on the show Inner Chef in 2005 and Urban Cusine in 2008.
As per IMDb, he is credited with five TV shows as a producer and seven works as an actor, including Run the World and Cyberchase.
Marcus Samuelsson Parents Ann Marie And Lennart Samuelsson
Marcus Samuelsson parents are Ann Marie And Lennart Samuelsson. He was adopted by Ann Marie And Lennart Samuelsson.
Marcus was born to his parents on November 6, 1971, in Ethiopia located in Africa. His birth father, Tsegie, was the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Chuch priest. His mother passed away when he was a child. He was born as Kassagun Tsegie.
He was separated from his family when there was turmoil in the Ethiopian Civil War that began in 1974. He was adopted by Ann and Lennart, who lived in Gothenburg, Sweden.
His adoptive parents wanted to have kids desperately but could not have kids so they adopted Marcus and his sibling and brought them to Gothenburg.
Marcus' adoptive father taught him when he was young that the restaurant industry would be a lot different but supported him to pursue his career as a chef and a restauranter.
He stated in Explore Parts Unknown that he had never seen the picture of his biological mother's photos were not taken then. It was said to him that his mother was pretty and small.
He often travels to his motherland, where he meets his brothers and sister in Ethiopia. In 2000, he reconnected with his father when he visited his homeland and learned more about his birth parents.
Ann Marie was a homemaker who cared for him and his siblings so they would grow up properly and live a wonderful life. Lennart was a geologist by profession, and he studied the history, nature, processes as well as materials of Earth.
In the second chapter of his book entitled Make It Easy, he mentioned that his father is a scientist.
On March 1, 2017, for the start of Women's Month, Marcus posted a photo of her mother, stating that he wanted to thank his mother Ann Marie, for everything she had given him.
He added that he always feared her and knew he could go home until and unless he had something to show for himself. He mentioned that he would always remember her and love her.
In 2022, he posted a series of photos addressing the women in his life that helped him become who he is. He mentioned his birth mother, who had walked him and his sibling to safety, and his adoptive mother who had loved him unconditionally.
On the occasion of mothers day, he shared his favorite photo with his adoptive mother in Sweden. He wished her a happy mothers day and mentioned that he missed her every day.
On June 9, 2022, the restauranter posted a photo and captioned that he had nothing but love for his parents as it took them a while to get the hang of his hair when he and his sister were adopted.
The celebrity chef is extremely grateful to his parents Ann Marie And Lennart Samuelsson for adopting him, giving him everything he could ever want, and helping him become the person he is.
Remembering my mom Ann Marie for everything she gave me. It was more than any Michelin star chef. I will always love you. #womensmonth
— Marcus Samuelsson (@MarcusCooks) March 1, 2017Marcus Samuelsson Family Life
The family of Marcus Samuelsson consisted of his two sisters, mother, father, and grandmother.
He started to become interested in cooking when his grandmother Helga used to teach and feed him yummy foods and her signature dishes.
On March 1, 2021, he posted a childhood picture and mentioned that his love of cooking came from his grandmother, and he still has her recipe for meatballs on the menu of the Rooster Harlem restaurant.
Thankful for my grandmother Helga who taught me how to cook when young. She made delicious food with very simple ingredients. #womensmonth
He called his grandmother mormor and stated that she always supported and encouraged him.
On March 29, 2017, Marcus tweeted that he was thankful for his grandmother, who had taught him how to cook when he was young and made delicious foods with very simple ingredients.
He posted a family photo on National Adoption Day and stated that that day was worth celebrating.
He thanked his mother and father for welcoming his sister and him with open arms and unconditional love.
He posted a picture with his sisters and mother while growing up in Sweden on October 8, 2020, and stated that he loved how they all snuggled up in the photo.
He added that the photo brought back warm memories of his mother's hugs.
Marcus Samuelsson Sister Are Linda And Anna Samuelsson
Marcus Samuelsson has two sisters Linda Samuelsson and Anna Samuelsson.
Linda is his sister from the same birth mother who was with him when they were adopted after being separated from their family in 1974. Her birth name was not Linda, and it was changed after Ann Marie and Lennart had adopted her.
Anna is the adoptive sister of the chef, and the three siblings live together with their mom and dad. Anna was also adopted when she was 15 months old, and Linda, along with Marcus, was adopted later.
On March 11, 2021, he posted a photo of himself and his sister Linda when they were small playing instruments and stated that he miss live music and the energy from their speakeasy. He added that he could not wait to have all of them back.
On another occasion, he posted a photo of himself and his sister riding a bicycle when they were young and a second photo of himself as an adult riding a bicycle. He captioned the photos of how it started, and it was going.
He also posted a photo of himself and Linda when they were young, celebrating Easter in Sweden.
He mentioned that they celebrated the holiday a little differently in Sweden, dressed up and went trick-or-treating during Easter, and dressed up as witches and brooms.
Marcus Samuelsson Wife and Children
Marcus is currently married to his wife Maya Haile Samuelsson, and the couple has two children Zion and Grace.
Maya is a professional model and is associated with the Iconic Focus and Innovative Artist modeling agencies.
She studied to be a nurse but later decided to quit as she wanted to become a model.
The couple has co-founded the Three Goats Organization, which helps provide Ethiopia's residents with the necessary human needs for growth and development.
He has been married to his wife since 2009, and they have been married for more than ten years. The couple met in 2005 and started dating.
They had a simple engagement party in Sweden and married three years after they started to date. The duo tied the knot in Addis Ababa in, Ethiopia.
After being married for around seven years, Maya gave birth to their first child Zion on July 19, 2016.
Their firstborn is currently six years old. The married couple welcomed their second child, Grace, on January 25, 2022, and she recently turned one year old.
The couple lives happily in Harlem, located in New York, with two of his children. Even after years of being married, they have continued to grow together.
Their love has only increased after the birth of their daughter, and they have continued to tackle the problems throughout the years.
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