Lawson was born to Nigel Lawson (Baron Lawson of Blaby), a Conservative MP, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, and Vanessa Salmon (1936–1985), a socialite, 'celebrated beauty' and heiress to the J. Her own cookware range, Living Kitchen, has a value of £7 million, and she has sold more than 3 million cookery books worldwide. This led to the commissioning of Nigella Express on BBC Two in 2007. Lawson hosted the Food Network's Nigella Feasts in the United States in 2006 followed by a three-part BBC Two series, Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, in the United Kingdom. The Nigella Bites series won Lawson a Guild of Food Writers Award however her 2005 ITV daytime chat show was met with a negative critical reaction and was cancelled after attracting low ratings. In 2000, she began to host her own cookery series on Channel 4, Nigella Bites, which was accompanied with another bestselling cookery book.

She went on to write her second book in 2000, How to be a Domestic Goddess, winning her the British Book Award for Author of the Year. In 1998, Lawson brought out her first cookery book, How to Eat, which sold 300,000 copies and became a bestseller. She then embarked upon a career as a freelance journalist, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines. After graduating from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, Lawson started work as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986. Lawson is the daughter of Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa Salmon, whose family owned the J. Nigella Lawson is a British food writer, journalist, and broadcaster best known for her best-selling cookbooks and her various cooking television programs and specials.

Nigella bites year