Giada Pamela De Laurentiis was born in Rome, Italy, the eldest child of actress Veronica De Laurentiis and her first husband, actor-producer Alex De Benedetti; De Benedetti was a close associate of Giada's grandfather, the film producer Dino De Laurentiis. SAM-RAIMI-INTERVIEW-1987 Her parents were married in February 1970 but were later divorced. After their parents' divorce, Giada and her siblings moved to Southern California where they took their mother's surname.

Her grandparents are producer Dino De Laurentiis and Italian film star Silvana Mangano. Her siblings include sister Eloisa, a makeup artist, and brothers Dino Alexander, a Hollywood film editor, and Igor. Her stepfather is producer Ivan Kavalsky.

De Laurentiis graduated from Marymount High School and holds a bachelor's degree in social anthropology from UCLA (1996).

On May 25, 2003, she married Todd Thompson, a fashion designer for Anthropologie. The two had been dating since July 1989. The couple's first child, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson, was born on March 29, 2008.

De Laurentiis, dubbed as "a petite powerhouse" by Town & Country magazine, stands "just under five foot two."[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159178846.html A petite powerhouse: she started young, cooking as a child in her mother's kitchen. Now Giada De Laurentiis is whipping up Italian favorites on the small screen and becoming a bigger star every day.(Cover story) - Town & Country - HighBeam Research