After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986.

Her 2005 ITV daytime chat show Nigella met with a negative critical reaction and was cancelled after attracting low ratings.

She traced her ancestors to Ashkenazi Jews who originate from eastern Europe and Germany, leaving Lawson surprised not to have Sephardi ancestry, as she had believed.

[20] She also uncovered that her maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Coenraad Sammes (later Coleman Joseph), had fled to England from Amsterdam in 1830 to escape a prison sentence following a conviction for theft.

She worked for many department stores in London,[23] and went on to graduate from Lady Margaret Hall[24] at the University of Oxford[23] with a second-class degree in medieval and modern languages.

[23] At 23, she began her career in journalism after Charles Moore had invited her to write for The Spectator[23] – her father had previously been editor at the same publication, and her older brother soon would take up the same role.

[16] She attracted publicity in 1989 when she admitted voting for Labour in an election, not her father's Conservative Party, and then criticised Margaret Thatcher in print.

[8] In the mid-1990s she occasionally hosted TV press-reviews slot What the Papers Say, and was co-host, with David Aaronovitch, of Channel 4 literary-discussion series Booked.

[13] Lawson rejected feminist criticism of her book,[33] adding that "[s]ome people did take the domestic goddess title literally rather than ironically.

[16] Lawson next hosted her own cooking show television series, Nigella Bites, which ran from 1999 to 2001 on Channel 4,[36][37] followed by a Christmas special in 2001.

[28] Those who did criticise her often suggested she was too flirtatious; a commentator from The New York Times said, "Lawson's sexy roundness mixed with her speed-demon technique makes cooking dinner with Nigella look like a prelude to an orgy".

[28] Fellow food writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall condemned the concept as "cynical and reckless" and referred to the book as "Fuck Seasonality".

[47] In 2002 Lawson also began to write a fortnightly cooking article for The New York Times,[6] and brought out a profitable line of kitchenware, called the Living Kitchen range, which is sold by numerous retailers.

[48] In November 2003, Lawson oversaw the menu and preparations for a lunch hosted by Tony Blair at Downing Street for George W. Bush and his wife during their state visit to the UK.

[49] Former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, is said to be a fan of Lawson's recipes and once included one of her soups as the starter for the 2002 presidential Christmas dinner.

[53] In the UK in 2005, Lawson started to host a daytime television chat show on ITV1 called Nigella, on which celebrity guests joined her in a studio kitchen.

[21] Her third food-based television series, called Nigella Feasts, debuted on the Food Network in the United States in Autumn 2006 for a 13-week run.

[56] Time magazine wrote a favourable review of the show; "the real appeal of Feasts ... is her unfussy, wry, practical approach to entertaining and quality comfort food.

[58] Lawson was next signed to BBC Two to host a three-part cookery show entitled Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, which began on 6 December 2006 and aired weekly.

[61] Her influence as a food commentator was also demonstrated in late 2006, when after she had lauded goose fat as being an essential ingredient for Christmas, sales of the product increased significantly in the UK.

"[99] One editor, highlighting the technical simplicity of Lawson's recipes, noted that "her dishes require none of the elaborate preparation called for by most TV chefs".

[15] The media have also noted Lawson's ability to engage with both male and female viewers;[5][108] The Guardian wrote, "Men love her because they want to be with her.

[112] In June 2013, photographs were published by The Sunday People of Lawson being grabbed around the neck by Saatchi, during an argument outside a London seafood restaurant.

[119] Subsequently, while giving evidence, Lawson claimed casual cruelty and controlling behaviour by Saatchi made her unhappy and drove her to occasional drug use.

[120][121] Saatchi announced his divorce from Lawson in early July, stating that he had "clearly been a disappointment to Nigella during the last year or so" and the couple had "become estranged and drifted apart".

[124][125] During court proceedings in early December, the sisters claimed that Lawson had permitted their use of the credit cards in exchange for their silence regarding her drug use.

Lawson admitted to taking cocaine and cannabis but denied she had been addicted, stating, "I found it made an intolerable situation tolerable.

[127] Charles Saatchi was alleged to have started a smear campaign against Lawson in the British media through PR man Richard Hillgrove before the trial was over.

She first became involved with the charity in 2002 when she baked some lavender cupcakes to be auctioned at a fundraising event, which sold for a significant amount of money.

[139] It was revealed by leaked Whitehall documents in 2003 that Lawson declined an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2001,[140] explaining that "I'm not saving lives and I'm not doing anything other than something I absolutely love.