Radhika Khanna was an Indian-American entrepreneur, fashion designer, and author who is known for being the elder sister of the Michelin star Indian chef Vikas Khanna. She is also known for designing outfits for many American television shows like Kitchen Nightmares.
Wiki/Biography
Radhika Khanna was born on Saturday, 23 March 1974 (age 47 years; at the time of death) in Amritsar, Punjab, India. After completing her primary and secondary education in India, she moved to New York, The United States of America, and got herself enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, to pursue her higher education.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Radhika Khanna’s father’s name is Davinder Khanna and mother’s name is Bindu Khanna. She had a younger brother, Vikas Khanna. Vikas is a Michelin-starred Indian chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He rose to popularity after appearing as a judge on MasterChef India Season 2, a Hindi-language competitive cooking reality show based on MasterChef Australia.
Radhika Khanna’s parents and brother
Career
Radhika Khanna started working at a very young age. She began working part-time at different restaurants in Manhattan while studying full time at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. She did this job to bear her personal and educational expenses. Soon after earning a degree in fashion, she did an internship under the mentorship of Donna Karan, an American fashion designer and the creator DKNY clothing brand. Radhika Khanna established her own fashion line ‘Estilo Inc’ in the year 2005. After receiving recognition as a designer, she also got the opportunity to design outfits for the American reality television series ‘Kitchen Nightmares.’ Apart from being a fashion designer, she was also an author. She wrote multiple books on yoga. Her first book was titled as ‘Pose: Yoga for working professionals.’ Some of her other books include ‘Yoga: From the Ganges to Wall Street and Standout: Yoga’ and ‘self-defense: A complete guide to self-confidence for teenage girl.’ She got the inspiration to write these book after she herself became a regular practitioner of yoga and learned about its health benefits. She began practising yoga after she got diagnosed with Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus), an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues in many parts of the body. She also suffered from Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome and yoga helped her fight these diseases with great mind and energies. Radhika Khanna wrote these book for promoting yoga and creating awareness about it.
A book written by Radhika Khanna
Death
On 28 February 2022, Radhika’s brother, Vikas Khanna, shared the news of her demise through a social media post. The reason for her death was revealed to be multiple organ failure, which were the ultimate cause of the diseases like lupus, kidney failure, and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, from which she was suffering from a long period of time. Vikas took to Instagram to post a picture with her sister and shared the tragic news with his fans and followers. He captioned the picture as,
My soulmate left me today. March 23, 1974 – Feb 28, 2022. She fought like a champion for years with Lupus, aHUS, renal failure. But today due to multiple organ failure, my best friend passed away in my arms. Loveeeee you Radha forever & forever. RIP”
Further, he posted a compilation video on his Instagram account sharing some of his best memories with his sister. With a very heavy heart, he wrote,
Even when she was semi-conscious, she kept telling the Drs that she wants to go home soon and protect Viku. #MyRadha #SistersAreBlessing.”
Many Indian celebrities including Kapil Sharma, Vineet Bhatia, Shabana Azmi, Neena Gupta, and Aahana Kumra commented on chef’s Instagram post paying respect and offering their condolences to Vikas and his family. Vineet Bhatia wrote,
The pain of losing a dear one is unmatched. Her fond memories will remain forever and she will still keep protecting you from heaven. Stay strong Om shanti.”
Facts/Trivia
- Her family used to call her Radha.
- She followed a non-vegetarian food habit.
Radhika Khanna’s Instagram story
- Radhika Khanna had great interest in the poems of Rumi.
