Jamie Oliver was brought up in Clavering, Essex, England, where his parents ran a pub, "The Cricketers", and used to practice in the kitchen. He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School. He left school at 16 without any qualifications to attend Westminster Catering College. His first job was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal's Yard restaurant, where he first gained experience of Italian cuisine. Oliver then moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef, where he was noticed by the BBC in 1999 when his show The Naked Chef debuted and his cookbook became a number one best-seller in the UK. That same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for then Prime Minister Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.

On 24 June 2000, Oliver married former model Juliette Norton. The couple met in 1993 and have four children: Poppy Honey Oliver (b. March 18, 2002), Daisy Boo Oliver (b. April 10, 2003), Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (b. April 3, 2009) and Buddy Bear Maurice (b. September 15, 2010). Oliver announced the births of the two youngest children on Twitter. The family lives in Clavering, Essex.Oliver is of partial Sudanese ancestry.

In 2000, Oliver became the face of UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's through an endorsement deal worth £2 million a year.

Putting up his house as collateral without telling his wife, Oliver created the Fifteen Foundation in 2002. Each year, 15 young adults who have a disadvantaged background, criminal record or history of drug abuse, are trained in the restaurant business.

In 2003, he was awarded an MBE.

In 2005, he initiated a campaign called "Feed me Better" in order to move British schoolchildren towards eating healthy foods and cutting junk food. As a result, the British government also pledged to address the issue. Delving into politics to push for changes in nutrition resulted in people voting him as the "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005," according to a Channel 4 News annual viewer poll.

His emphasis on cooking healthily continued as he created "Jamie's Ministry of Food," a television series where Oliver traveled to inspire everyday people in Rotherham, Yorkshire to cook healthy meals. His latest television series is "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" (2009), where he travels to Huntington, West Virginia to change the way Americans eat and address their dependence on fast food.

Oliver's holding company, Sweet As Candy, has made enough profit for Jamie to have been listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30.

It was reported in October 2009 that Oliver is in the process of raising $22 million to help fund 30 of his Italian restaurants in Asia.

In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize.

Opening on 3 November 2010, at the new City of London development, One New Change, is Jamie Oliver's, 200-seat restaurant, Barbecoa.

Oliver conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant where he trained 15 disadvantaged young people to work in the hospitality industry. Following the success of the original restaurant in London, more Fifteens have opened around the globe: Fifteen Amsterdam opened in December 2004, Fifteen Cornwall in Newquay opened in May 2006, and Fifteen Melbourne opened in September 2006 with Australian friend and fellow chef Tobie Puttock.

Oliver then began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and get children eating fresh, tasty, nutritious food instead. Oliver's efforts to bring radical change to the school meals system, chronicled in the series "Jamie's School Dinners", challenged the junk food culture by showing schools they could serve healthy, cost-efficient meals that kids enjoyed eating. Jamie's efforts brought the subject of school dinners to the political forefront and changed the types of food served in schools.

In June 2003 Oliver was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. He has also written columns for The Times. A great proponent of fresh organic foods, Oliver was named the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry when he topped the inaugural Caterersearch.com 100 in May 2005. The list placed Oliver higher than Sir Francis Mackay, the then-chairman of the contract catering giant, Compass Group, which Oliver had soundly criticised in "Jamie's School Dinners". In 2006, Oliver dropped to second on the list behind fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. July 2010 saw Jamie regain the top spot and has been named as the most powerful and influential person in the UK hospitality industry once again.

In December 2009 Oliver was awarded the 2010 TED Prize for his campaigns to "create change on both the individual and governmental level" in order to "bring attention to the changes Englanders and now Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet."

Oliver is a patron of environmental charity Trees for Cities.

From 1998, Oliver was the public face of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain in the UK, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material. The deal earned him an estimated £1.2 million every year. By 2004, the company had made 65 advertisements with Oliver, but this arrangement has not been without controversy. Oliver was reported to have admitted that he doesn't use supermarkets, saying “For any chef, supermarkets are like a factory. I buy from specialist growers, organic suppliers and farmers". He was also said to have been criticised by Sainsbury's CEO Justin King, when he slammed the "junk" sold by supermarkets which ends up in the lunchboxes of millions of children. King reportedly hit back, saying: "Dictating to people ... or unleashing an expletive-filled tirade ... is not the way to get engagement."

Oliver has also promoted a line of non-stick pans and cookware for Tefal, and has appeared in Australian television commercials for Yalumba wines, using Del Boy's catchphrase of "Lovely Jubbly".

Oliver's programmes are shown in over 40 countries, including the USA's Food Network. Oliver's Twist and "Pukka Tukka" picked up where "The Naked Chef" left off. More recently, Jamie has been doing series based on campaigns to improve food in schools and cooking skills of the average person.

The Naked Chef (1998—1999) was Jamie Oliver's first series. The title was a reference to the simplicity of Oliver's recipes, and has nothing to do with nudity. Oliver has frequently admitted that he wasn't entirely happy with the title, which was devised by producer Patricia Llewellyn. (In the UK edit of the show, the opening titles include a clip of him telling an unseen questioner, "No way! It's not me, it's the food!") The success of the programme led to the books Return of the Naked Chef and Happy Days with the Naked Chef.

• Series Guide

• Series 1 — 6 editions — 14 April 1999 to 16 June 1999
• Series 2 — 8 editions — 12 April 2000 to 31 May 2000
• Series 3 — 8 editions — 16 October 2001 to 4 December 2001
• Special "Christmas comes early" — 21 December 1999
• Special "Christmas in New York" — 20 December 2000
• Special "Christmas Party" — 19 December 2001

Pukka Tukka was launched in 2000 on Channel 4

Oliver's Twist was launched 2002.

Jamie's Kitchen was a five-part 2002 documentary series. It followed chef Jamie Oliver as he attempted to train a group of disadvantaged youth, who would, if they completed the course, be offered jobs at Oliver's new restaurant "Fifteen". This was followed by Return to Jamie's Kitchen in 2003.

Jamie's Kitchen Australia was a ten-part 2006 television series, similar to Jamie's Kitchen, that was based in and aired in Australia.

Jamie's School Dinners (2005) was a four-part documentary series. Oliver took responsibility for running the kitchen meals in Kidbrooke School, Greenwich, for a year. Disgusted by the unhealthy fare being served to schoolchildren and the lack of healthy alternatives on offer, Oliver began a campaign to improve the standard of Britain’s school meals. Public awareness was raised, and, subsequent to Oliver's efforts, the British Government pledged to spend £280m on school dinners (spread over three years). Tony Blair himself acknowledged that this was a result of Oliver's campaign. Following the success of the campaign, Oliver was named "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005" in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006. During the school dinners programme, Oliver's "Fifteen" London was visited by former US President Bill Clinton. Clinton asked to see Oliver; however, Oliver refused, as Clinton's party had asked for other diners to be removed to make room for their larger-than-agreed-upon group. In episode 2 of Jamie's School Dinners, Clinton's party had 36 show up for a booking of 16 and many of them were on a South Beach Diet and did not want the special menu that had been prepared, even though the menu had been approved in advance.

Jamie's Great Italian Escape, a six-part travelogue series, was first broadcast on Channel 4 in Britain in October 2005. It follows Jamie as he travels around Italy in a blue VW van (plus a trailer for cooking). Jamie is about to turn 30, and this is his personal adventure to rediscover his love of cooking.

Jamie's Return To School Dinners

Jamie's Chef (2007) was a four-part series continuing where Jamie's Kitchen left off. Five years and fifty trainees later, Oliver's most recent series aims to help the winning trainee establish their own restaurant at "the Cock", a pub near Braintree, Essex. The charitable Fifteen Foundation retains ownership of the property and has provided a £125,000 loan for the winner, Aaron Craze, to refurbish the establishment. As of January 13, 2008, the Cock has closed down, and reopened as a regular pub.

Jamie at Home (2007) featured Jamie presenting home-style recipes and gardening tips, with many ingredients coming from his substantial home garden. Jamie at Home airs on the Food Network in the United States. Due to licensing restrictions, only two recipes from each Jamie at Home episode will appear online; also, access to recipes is limited to users within the United States.

Jamie's Fowl Dinners (2008) A special with Jamie backing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Hugh's Chicken Run" in trying to get the British to eat free range chickens.

Jamie's Ministry of Food (2008) was a four-part series was aired from 30 September to 21 October 2008. It was based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Jamie aimed to make the town "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" and tried to get the town's inhabitants to learn how to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life. The 'Pass It On' campaign also featured in this series with the local townspeople being taught one of a selection of recipes and passing it on to family members and friends. The 'Pass It On' campaign gained a following on the social networking website Facebook which has a group and fan page with users signing up to chart their progress.

What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver (2008), a video game with Oliver narrating

Jamie Saves Our Bacon (2009) Part of Channel 4's British Food Fight Season, a thematic sequel to Jamie's Fowl Dinners. In the special Jamie looks at the state of pig farming in the UK and EU. It was broadcast on 29 January 2009.

Jamie's American Road Trip (2009) Channel 4 Series following Jamie who rather than visit fancy restaurants and top chefs, will be meeting, and learning from, real cooks making honest food for working people at street stalls, off-road diners and down-to-earth local restaurants. Along the way, he'll be picking up new recipes, and experiencing tastes old and new, as well as learn how other cultures adapt when they come to the USA.

Jamie's Family Christmas (2009) Channel 4 Short (5 episodes) Series with Jamie cooking traditional and new Christmas dishes. More unusually this series includes members of Jamie's family; a family member (wife, children, sister etc.) appears in a supporting role with the preparation of particular recipe interspersed with more traditional Jamie alone delivery to an off-camera person. First broadcast 15 December 2009.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is a series airing on ABC in the United States. In the first season, Oliver visits Huntington, West Virginia, statistically one of the unhealthiest cities in the USA to try to improve its residents' eating habits. In 2010, the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Programme. It is also airing in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 under the title "Jamie's American Food Revolution."

Jamie Does (2010) Channel 4 Series (6 episodes) following the success of Jamie's American Road Trip, Jamie is travelling across Europe and North Africa, cooking local dishes

Jamie Oliver has twice guest-hosted Channel 4's The Friday Night Project.

He has also made two appearances in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of BBC Two's Top Gear. His first appearance was notorious for his attempt to make a green salad in the back of his Volkswagen Microbus while the Stig drove it around the Top Gear test track.

Oliver is the second British celebrity chef (after Robert Irvine) to appear as a challenger on Iron Chef America, taking on Iron Chef Mario Batali in 2008 in a losing battle with cobia as the theme ingredient.

He is starring as one of the judges in the 2008 US series Oprah's Big Give hosted by Oprah Winfrey on ABC .

The Happy Days Live tour was Oliver's first live show in 2001 and included several dates in the UK and Australasia. Performing to sold-out venues, he cooked on stage and interacted with the audiences with competitions, music and special effects only usually seen in pop concerts. He took the audiences by surprise by singing and drumming to a song called Lamb Curry written by his longtime friend Leigh Haggerwood. Oliver appears at the BBC good food show each year and took to the road once more in 2006 on an Australian tour where he performed in Sydney and Melbourne. Following the entertaining format of his first live show, the 2006 Australian tour featuring special guests including mentor Gennaro Contaldo, and students from Fifteen London. Jamie also performed a new song written by Leigh Haggerwood called Fish Stew which Jamie cooked to and also drummed along to at the end of the show. The shows were a great success and are featured in a one-off TV documentary called Jamie Oliver: Australian Diary.

In 2005, Oliver was widely criticised by animal rights groups for slaughtering a fully conscious lamb on his TV show, while PETA praised Oliver for showing the killing uncensored, believing it would scare meat eaters into becoming vegetarians.

Jamie Oliver has been known for his comments about other chefs and has spoken out against Marco Pierre White, who has been critical of Oliver in the past, and the notorious swearing of Gordon Ramsay.

In 2005, Jamie Oliver embarked upon his school dinners campaign to improve the quality of food fed to pupils. While the campaign was arguably successful,at the time it was a highly controversial shake-up for students and parents, some of whom believed that the students should have a healthy option available, but still be given the choice as to what they want to eat. In September 2006, Rawmarsh Community School, South Yorkshire, UK, made headlines after a handful of parents revolted against Oliver's lunch plan (in which all 1,100 pupils on site were fed two portions of fruit and three vegetables every day) by delivering junk food from local shops to the pupils through the school fence. One parent dismissed Oliver's food as "disgusting rubbish" and declared, "Food is cheaper and better at the local takeaways.”

Since his early years, his accent, which is often described as "mockney" or "fake cockney," has become famous...particularly the use of the Hindi word "pukka" (colloquially meaning "brilliant" or "solid", originally "cooked" or "ripe").

In 1989 at age 13, Oliver and friend Leigh Haggerwood formed Scarlet Division, a Britpop/Rock band. Oliver played the drums in the group. Their single, "Sundial," reached number 42 on the UK pop charts in 2000. Shortly after, Oliver left the band to focus on his cooking career. The band reunited briefly in 2002, but broke up for good in 2003.

Oliver has mentioned on his shows that he enjoys table tennis. In a commercial, he spoofed this by playing a talented team of Olympic champions in a game by himself.

Oliver was mentioned in the South Park episode "Medicinal Fried Chicken". Eric Cartman, one of the main characters, is ordered by Colonel Sanders to stop him from delivering his speech against KFC.