Carla Hall proves you’re never too old to win big

“You’re Too Old For That” is a regular series that explores inspiring activities being pursued by those over 50 years old who feel you’re never too old to do what lights you up.

Chef Carla Hall’s radiant smile lit up the Daytime Emmy®’s red carpet and with good reason. The former Top Chef fan favorite and longtime co-host of The Chew had just achieved another career milestone: her HBO Max series Chasing Flavor took home the Emmy® for Outstanding Culinary Cultural Series.

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For Carla, now in her early sixties, this isn’t just another professional accolade. It’s a celebration of a career and a life defined by saying yes to new chapters, trusting the unexpected, and never letting age define what’s possible.

She said, “Winning an Emmy® at 61 feels deeply affirming — especially for a show that had so many starts, stops, and delays. It’s a sweet close to one chapter, but I’m already looking ahead. My one-woman play opens in June 2026, and I feel more creative and alive than ever. Every season has its own kind of shine.”

“I’m proof that you don’t have to have it all figured out in your twenties. You just have to keep showing up for yourself.”
– Carla Hall

From Shy Nashville Girl to the Paris Runway

Carla grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, where her grandmother was a defining influence. “I was painfully shy,” she recalled. “I loved art. I was the kid who stayed after class to help the teacher decorate the board.” When she saw her first play at 12, something shifted. She fell in love with performing and dreamed of an acting career.

Carla Hall; photo courtesy of Carla Hall

But when Boston University didn’t accept her into their acting program, she took an unexpected detour. “My sister was going to Howard University, so I decided to major in accounting because I liked my accounting teacher,” she laughed.

After becoming a CPA, Carla made another bold pivot. “I realized accounting wasn’t for me,” she said. “I went to Paris to model.” Strutting down European runways was another kind of stage — but it wasn’t her final destination. “Modeling was a bridge between what I knew I didn’t want to do and what I eventually wanted to do. Sometimes knowing what you don’t want is just as important as knowing what you do.”

Finding Her Flavor

Carla’s love for food emerged unexpectedly. Living abroad, she cooked for friends as a gesture of gratitude for their hospitality. When her modeling agency went bankrupt and her mom became ill, she returned to the U.S. “I catered my sister’s baby shower, and then started a lunch delivery business, going door to door to barbershops, salons, doctors’ offices, hawking my food.”

That scrappy five-year hustle built the foundation for everything that came next. At age 30, she enrolled in culinary school to deepen her craft. “I literally worked every single day. If you were visiting me, you were either prepping, shopping, or delivering.”

Late Bloomer, Big Break

Carla was 44 when the opportunity to appear on Top Chef came. She thought the casting call was a prank. It wasn’t. Years of catering had sharpened both her culinary skills and her endurance. “Everything I’d done had prepared me for that moment.”

Her joyful personality and soulful cooking style captured viewers’ hearts. But the experience also helped her claim her culinary identity. “I was so stressed, I was making soul food to comfort myself,” she said. “I didn’t even realize that’s what I was doing. It was the fans who told me: You’re the one who does soul food. The universe was like, Girl, this is what you’re meant to do.”

She joined The Chew at 46, appearing in more than 1,200 episodes over seven seasons. Though TV hosting was new territory, she found her way by embracing her authentic self — and dancing through the nerves. “I used to run out into the audience to dance to a song before going live. That’s how I learned to relax and be myself.”

Rewriting the Story After 50

While many people see their fifties as a winding down, Carla saw it as a creative ignition. At 58, she wrote her first children’s book, Carla and the Tin Can Cake Party. “I’d always wanted to write a children’s book,” she said. “It brought me full circle — back to art, to storytelling, to my grandmother’s kitchen.”

Carla is also working on a one-woman play called Carla Hall: Here I Am. “It’s about my life — the triumphs, the struggles, and everything I learned from standing in front of the stove and in front of the camera.”

Carla Hall filming her show; photo courtesy Carla Hall

Winning an Emmy® — and Owning the Moment

When Chasing Flavor won its Emmy® this October, it wasn’t just a career highlight. It was a powerful reminder that new dreams don’t come with an expiration date.

The series explores culinary traditions across cultures, connecting food to heritage and joy. “This show is about more than recipes,” Carla has said. “It’s about where we come from, how food connects us, and how it tells our stories.” Winning this Emmy® after decades of pivots and reinventions underscores her central message: age is not a barrier to creativity, success, or joy.

“I’m proof that you don’t have to have it all figured out in your twenties,” Carla said. “You just have to keep showing up for yourself.”

Are you doing something inspiring? Do you know someone who is pursuing a passion in their older years? If you or someone you know is 50 years old or older and should have their inspiring story told, please email the editors at Nifty 50+

Christina Daves is a TV lifestyle contributor and the host of the award-winning podcast Living Ageless and Bold, where she celebrates women over 50 who are rewriting the rules of midlife.