All About Bobby Flay's Daughter Sophie Flay

Bobby Flay is very proud of his daughter Sophie Flay — and he isn’t shy about saying so.

Sophie, 28, was born in April 1996. She’s the chef’s only daughter, whom he shares with ex-wife Kate Connelly. Sophie grew up in Connecticut before moving to Los Angeles for college. She graduated in 2018 and stayed in California, where she works as a broadcast journalist.

The chef often praises Sophie for both her ambition and kindness. “She has this great work ethic,” he told PEOPLE in January 2021. "She makes me proud just because she's such a nice person.”

"You ask anybody that knows Sophie, they will go on and on about her. She's a really sweet woman and she's incredibly inclusive,” he added. “She's got some coolness to her, she's very savvy, but she's a very inclusive person. She never wants anybody to feel left out and she thinks about that kind of stuff all the time."

The two have a very close relationship and have even collaborated on several work projects, including TV shows like The Flay List and Bobby and Sophie on the Coast and the podcast Always Hungry.

In April 2021, Bobby opened up to PEOPLE about what it’s like to work with his daughter. "We don't think of this as work. This is totally fun. It's just the two of us. And I think it actually helps our relationship because we get to talk even more about how we feel about things,” he said.

Here’s everything to know about Bobby Flay’s daughter, Sophie Flay.

She was born in 1996

Bobby and Connelly welcomed Sophie on April 16, 1996.

"Happy Birthday @abc7sophie, who has won best daughter in the universe an unbelievable 28 straight years!" the celebrity chef wrote on Instagram in April 2024. "From tiaras to caviar ... you’re the Queen of every year. Love Dad."

She’s a journalist

Sophie works as a community journalist for ABC7 in Los Angeles, and it’s a career path Bobby is very proud of.

"I'm a lucky dad because I have an ongoing flow of pride watching Sophie do so well in her career," he told PEOPLE in January 2021. "I'm watching her just rise to the challenges of being in her own career, and she's doing it through basically what I did, which was hard work. So when she puts out a story, my chest is big because I'm like, 'That's amazing. This is my kid.' "

She works as an adjunct professor

Sophie returned to her alma mater, the University of Southern California, as an adjunct professor in August 2022 at the university’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She started teaching a course in visual journalism.

Sharing the career update on Instagram, she wrote, “My students were so welcoming and eager to learn! There’s nothing like being back on campus. ⁣To say I’m honored to be teaching here would be [an] understatement. Fight on✌️❤️💛.”

Sophie and Bobby have starred in several TV shows together

Sophie and Bobby have collaborated quite a few times. Most recently, the duo worked together on Bobby and Sophie on the Coast, which aired on Food Network and Discovery+. The show followed the pair as they tried out some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants.

"It doesn't feel like work," Sophie explained to PEOPLE. "We're very lucky to have the relationship that we have and even if there's not a camera around we're going to restaurants and trying new foods. So it doesn't feel like a day on the job. It just feels like fun."

The pair also starred in The Flay List together in 2019. The show followed a similar format as Bobby and Sophie on the Coast, but focused on the New York City food scene instead.

Sophie and Bobby had a podcast together

In April 2021, Bobby and Sophie launched their joint podcast, Always Hungry. Describing the venture to PEOPLE, the chef explained that the show was “about life and being a parent, being a daughter, being friends and being adventurous in the world of food."

The father-daughter duo hasn't released an episode of Always Hungry since March 2022.

Sophie and Bobby released a book together

Bobby and Sophie released a cookbook called Sundays with Sophie: Flay Family Recipes for Any Day of the Week in October 2022. In the book's introduction, Bobby wrote, “My daughter, Sophie, is without a doubt at the head of my table ... Sophie’s name graces the cover of this book because she is the person who is most important to me.”

The chef also makes a habit of expressing himself through food. “I love cooking for my friends and my family. It's really the way that I show my adoration to people. It's truly my love language,” Bobby explained to PEOPLE in August 2022.

She loves horseracing

As a successful journalist, television co-host and cookbook inspiration, Sophie might not have a lot of free time. However, she does set aside some time in her busy schedule for her passion for horseracing. It’s a hobby she shares with her father.

In 2019, she told Parade, “We also love horseracing and being able to share that bond has been great because he got his love for horseracing from his grandfather and it has now passed down to me.”

“We attend a lot of races together. That's the beauty of horseracing. It's going on all the time in the U.S., and it's also going on all the time outside of the U.S. all over the world, so we're constantly keeping up with it, going to races, and watching it on TV,” she added.

She makes parenting “a lot easier”

In 2013, Bobby opened up about his relationship with Sophie during an appearance on The Rachael Ray Show.  

“In some ways, I’m the push over and she kind of knows that, but I have to say to her credit, she makes parenting a lot easier than it could be because she’s a great kid,” he said.

They went to the 2024 Paris Olympics together

Bobby and Sophie traveled to the 2024 Olympics together and were able to enjoy some of the other activities Paris has to offer along the way. On her Instagram Stories, Sophie shared photos with her dad from their visit to the Louvre, which included champagne and seeing the Mona Lisa.

In May 2024, Bobby told PEOPLE that Sophie would be his "plus one" on his trip to Paris.

"She's worked the Olympics. When she was an intern at USC she worked for NBC, so she went to South Korea and she went to Rio," he said. "She considers herself my Olympic expert."