Jae-Ha Kim

“There is no difference between my job and my life,” says “Top Chef Just Desserts” host Gail Simmons. “It’s one big blur and it’s all delicious. I travel and seek out great food. That’s kind of how I plan my trips, and my life.” Born in Toronto and currently residing in New York City, the 35-year-old TV personality — who also handles special projects for Food and Wine magazine — studied at the Institute of Culinary Education and worked in the kitchens of the Vong restaurants and Le Cirque 2000. Her memoir, “Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater,” will hit stores next year.

When Jennifer Knapp decides to take time off, she really goes for it. When the 36-year-old singer from Kansas wanted to reassess her life, she took seven years off and spent a good chunk of that time exploring Australia. She didn’t return to the United States until she was good and ready to start recording again. And she announced that she was gay.

In “Must Love Dogs,” Jordana Spiro played a ditzy fashionista who loved luxury and liked John Cusack. In her TBS sitcom “My Boys,” the actress stars as a down-to-earth Chicago Sun-Times sports reporter covering the Cubs. But when she has a week or two off from work, Spiro relishes getting away from it all by traveling to exotic destinations. While others in her position might book themselves into five-star accommodations, she prefers to spend less on hotels and more on experiencing the country’s culture. During her recent three-week trip to Vietnam, she made do with just one backpack. “Really, there’s almost nothing you can’t buy there if you need it,” she says. “It’s a completely amazing place and I’d go back in a second.”

In “Must Love Dogs,” Jordana Spiro played a ditzy fashionista who loved luxury and liked John Cusack. In her TBS sitcom “My Boys,” the actress stars as a down-to-earth Chicago Sun-Times sports reporter covering the Cubs. But when she has a week or two off from work, Spiro relishes getting away from it all by traveling to exotic destinations. While others in her position might book themselves into five-star accommodations, she prefers to spend less on hotels and more on experiencing the country’s culture. During her recent three-week trip to Vietnam, she made do with just one backpack.

Actor Stephen Caffrey was born in Cleveland, attended high school in five different states and now divides his time between Los Angeles and New York. But ask him where home is, and he’ll say Chicago. “My father was in a business that moved him around a lot, and as a result I was often uprooted,” Caffrey said. “The longest I’ve ever been in one place was the eight years I spent in Chicago. It’s hard to describe what bouncing around from place to place is like to people who haven’t experienced it. But eventually you end up just grabbing hold of home, and for me that’s Chicago.”