Elle Simone Scott, a chef and cookbook author best known for her work on “America’s Test Kitchen,” has died. She was 49.
Describing her as “one of [the organization’s] brightest stars,” “America’s Test Kitchen” Chief Content Officer Dan Souza confirmed in a statement Thursday that Scott died Monday after a long battle with ovarian cancer. The news was first announced Wednesday on “ATK’s” Instagram.
“Scott brought warmth and a vibrant spirit to everything she did,” Souza said. “Friends and colleagues will remember [her] for her ability to create community and provide opportunities for others, both inside and outside of work … Her legacy will live on at America’s Test Kitchen and in the homes and hearts of the millions of home cooks whose lives she touched.”
A Detroit native, Scott joined “America’s Test Kitchen” in 2016 and became the first Black woman cast member on the popular PBS cooking show. In addition to authoring cookbooks “Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings” and “Food Gifts: 150+ Irresistible Recipes for Crafting Personalized Presents,” she hosted “The Walk-In” podcast and worked as a food stylist.
In a tribute on Instagram, friend and fellow TV chef Carla Hall praised Scott for being “a force” and “a trailblazer.”
“At America’s Test Kitchen, Elle helped open doors that had long been closed — becoming one of the first Black women audiences saw in the test kitchen, and doing so with grace, authority, and joy,” wrote Hall. “Her voice mattered. Her work mattered. She mattered.”
According to WBUR, Scott, who lived in Boston, pivoted to a career in food in 2008 after she lost her home, car and job as a social worker during the recession.
“The thought occurred to me, ‘if I have to do something for the next 25 years of my life, it better be something I love,’ ” Scott said during a 2019 radio segment. “The only thing I could think of was cooking. It was the one thing that brought me peace and joy.”
She became an advocate for representation in food media and the culinary world, co-founding SheChef Inc., an organization for women chefs of color that provides mentorship to young women pursuing a career in the field, in 2013.
“I thought it would be a great way to create a network to bring those underrepresented people together to see how we could support each other, create a network where we can help each other grow professionally — also to just deal with the angst of being women in kitchens where we are the only women in the kitchen,” Scott told WTOP News in 2019.
Scott was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016, according to the Detroit News, but told the outlet she was cancer-free in 2020.
“Elle faced ovarian cancer with courage and honesty, using her platform to educate, advocate, and uplift even while fighting for her life,” Hall said in her tribute. “We honor you, Elle. Your legacy lives on in every kitchen you inspired and every cook who finally saw themselves reflected back.”
The day starts with a gentle trek. We clamber up from Flodigarry to circle under the black cliffs of the Quiraing where clouds flood around the bizarre rock formations. At the pass, we meet a howling wind and force our way down with shrieks of laughter.
I’m walking on the Isle of Skye, specifically a section of the Trotternish Ridge for CoppaFeel!, the young people’s breast cancer awareness charity. There are 120 participants in total, split into four groups of 30. Over five days, we will trek about 100km on the island’s rugged trails, traversing sea cliffs, climbing mountains, passing ruined castles, crossing bogs and jumping over rivers to raise money for the charity.
I’ve never been out in the hills with so many other women before. Some 117 of the participants are female, with a further six female celebrities spurring us on. We’re a raucous bunch.
After a scenic lunch overlooking Raasay and the distant Scottish mainland, we tackle the second half of the day’s trek – then bad weather rolls in. As we climb, rain starts falling, thick as smoke. The ground is sodden. Cold water drips from my hood, running down my nose, cheeks and chin. It’s grim. My waterproofs need reproofing and I’m soon drenched right through, like everyone else.
Of the 30 women in my group, most are new to mountain walking. For some, it’s their first time in Scotland. But somehow in these difficult miles across the wind and rain-battered mountain, morale stays high. I don’t need to turn and check where everyone is. I can hear them singing. They’re belting out Bohemian Rhapsody. When we pause, they dance.
Singing helps to keep morale high while traversing a bog.
Back on the campsite in the village of Uig, our base for the week, we shower, change and eat hot lasagne from Really Delicious, the Glasgow caterer looking after us all week. The event is organised by CoppaFeel! in partnership with Charity Challenge, which specialises in adventure challenges, providing the transport, routes and accommodation, as well as the expert mountain leaders who guide the inexperienced walkers across the island.
Mass participation charity events such as this are growing, and since Covid, Charity Challenge reports a huge increase in demand. From national Three Peaks Challenges to Hadrian’s Wall and overnight ascents of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), group trekking in the UK has exploded. The events bring a range of benefits. Businesses find them a good way to bring teams together in person, boosting employee morale and mental health. In a tough funding climate, charities gain much-needed income and visibility. CoppaFeel!’s record is exemplary: in 2017, the charity raised £200,000 from trekking; in 2025, it was aiming to reach £2m.
After dinner, we gather in the marquee for the daily debrief – 150 people crowd in, taking shelter from the wind. The ground squelches beneath our feet. Today was tough, a baptism of fire for novice walkers. I expect sullen stares and low spirits, but when the celebrity leaders and CoppaFeel! staff walk in, the tent erupts.
The walkers and a guide cross a stream on the Quiraing with views to Trotternish Ridge.
“What a day!” says author and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher, one of CoppaFeel!’s celebrity patrons. The tent falls quiet, as everyone strains to catch her words. We’re two days in, and an intense cohesion is forming. It feels like family. Standing in front of the crowd wearing a giant boob costume, Giovanna reflects on the day.
Tonight, even after the brutal storm, most people are laughing and cheering. She reminds us all to dig deep and remember our personal motivations – our “why” – to get through the week. Giovanna’s is Kris Hallenga, the inspirational woman who founded CoppaFeel! in 2009 after she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer when she was 23. “Kris is why I’m here,” she says. Kris died in 2024.
Over five days, we complete five different routes around Trotternish, the northernmost peninsula on Skye. It’s stunning. With each hike, we gain different views of the hills of Harris and North Uist, watching the light change on the sea between the mainland and the Outer Hebrides. The days are long and demanding but everyone shows good stamina and determination. By day three, a committed group have drunk the local bar dry.
On our fourth day, we hike from Sligachan to the Fairy Pools and back again. Circling underneath the Black Cuillin (Skye’s highest and rockiest range), the women are awestruck. “It feels like we’re on another planet!” one woman says.
For many, these treks provide a guided entry to adventure. The leaders support everyone on the mountain, covering route-finding and first aid, while CoppaFeel! helps with kit lists, a training plan, regular webinars and online meetups. I watch women who trained in London’s Richmond Park become adventurers, newly comfortable with trekking poles, gaiters and “nature pees”. They all say they will go out and do this again.
Stopping for lunch at the Fairy Pools, a series of natural pools and waterfalls not far from the Black Cuillin, the women pose for photos and make videos. They dip their faces in the clear water and share their experiences on social media to raise awareness and fundraise. Every participant has a target of £2,500.
Hikers on the way to the Fairy Pools from Sligachan under ominous skies.
By this point in the week, we’ve relaxed into each other’s company. Five days is a long time to spend with strangers, but as the week goes on, I come to see that the length of this challenge is part of its power.
“At the start,” Giovanna says, “a week will feel like for ever. But make the most of it. Trust me, by the end, you won’t want to finish.”
Strangers form close bonds and my team becomes deeply supportive. In this safe space, people open up.
Many of the participants have personal experience of breast cancer. For some, it was five, 10 or 20 years ago – while others are now in treatment. Many have also experienced grief. In this context, the challenge is not merely physical: deep, raw emotions are close to the surface.
Walking and talking beside the river underneath the Cuillin, one woman tells me about her life. From chronic illness to having children, her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, everything flows out in an easy conversational way. Then she falls behind, starts chatting with someone else and that’s how it goes. An hour later, we catch up and she says she cried after sharing those things with me – she realised she had never said them aloud before.
Participants ford a river in tutus.
She’s not alone. People change over this week. There’s a mother in my group who has two young children. She has recently finished her breast cancer treatment and is emotionally wobbly. But by the end of the week she is beaming, looking stronger and happier, as if a weight has been lifted. The trek creates a profound space of mass empathy. Stigma is removed and the experience of breast cancer is normalised.
The final day dawns like a festival. Glitter goes on like war paint. There are flower garlands, frilly tutus and giant pink knickers. About 150 of us toil uphill through bog to reach the summit of Beinn Edra. The sun comes out and on the breast of this hill, those who choose to, bare it all.
Back at camp, we cross the finish line, singing, hugging and crying. Looking around, I see new friends for life have been made. Then the CoppaFeel! girls read out the fundraising total. The reach is astonishing. This week, 120 women walking the rough trails of Skye have raised over £500,000. They are a force to be reckoned with.
CoppaFeel! is running four treks in 2026, including two day-long treks in the UK; apply to do a trek or register interest at coppafeel.org/trek
ANNOUNCING the arrival of her baby daughter, Bianca Wallace told how she and her movie star husband Ioan Gruffudd were ‘totally smitten’ with their ‘tiny little angel’.
But while fans were quick to congratulate the 33-year-old aspiring actress and her famous beau, Sun Showbiz can reveal the arrival of Mila Mae Gruffudd ushers in a painful new chapter for Ioan’s ex-wife.
The bitter feud between Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd shows no signs of ending four years down the lineCredit: Getty – ContributorIoan is now married to new love Bianca WallaceCredit: Getty
For Alice Evans and her Welsh actor ex, who are parents to older daughters Ella, 15 and Elsie, 11, have been embroiled in one of Hollywood’s nastiest break-ups since they split back in January 2021, and according to our well-placed source, she remains in no mood to back down.
Ioan was well on his way to becoming a major star by the time he had met his first wife, with roles in the blockbuster film Titanic and the Emmy award-winning series Hornblower under his belt.
By the mid 2000s, his career had been sent stratospheric by the Marvel movies Fantastic Four and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
The couple easily slotted into the A-lister lifestyle of Hollywood, with their impressive LA family pad coming complete with lush gardens, an idyllic pool and a huge entertaining space.
The Brit certainly didn’t take the news lying down, famously alleging in now-deleted tweets that she was being ‘gaslit and mentally tortured’ by Ioan.
She shared: “My beloved husband/ soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.
“Me and our young daughters are very confused and sad.
“We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me’.”
The fallout was spectacular – Ioan filed for divorce two months later, and his estranged wife went on the warpath on social media, leading to countless public accusations flying back and forth.
The actor secured a restraining order against Alice, citing harassment, in 2022 and in August 2023, a month after their divorce was granted, accused her of ‘child abuse’ after their eldest daughter filed for a restraining order against him.
She hit back, claiming her ex had not seen or called their girls for 11 weeks.
Aussie Bianca, who at 33 is 18 years younger than Ioan, looked to be at the heart of much of Alice’s distress.
The couple are believed to have met in Australia in 2020 when Ioan was filming the TV series Harrow, with Bianca an extra on the show.
They confirmed their relationship in October 2021 with Alice immediately, very publicly, accusing them of having an affair, an accusation Bianca branded ‘disgusting and vile’.
Engaged by January 2024, Ioan and Bianca, who insist their relationship started after he split from Alice, married this April and on November 2, their daughter was born.
Bianca Wallace showing off her engagement ring on InstagramCredit: InstagramIoan and wife Bianca welcomed their first baby together last monthCredit: instagram/iambiancawallaceWhile Alice and Ioan have been divorced for two years, a row over child and spousal support has continued to rageCredit: Splash
“Alice will not hate the new baby – she is the most loving woman and best mother there can be,” said our source.
“She is angry at Ioan and Bianca but not at the new baby.
“But she will not have her daughter’s feelings discarded or replaced when the new baby arrives. How dare he!
“She’s also desperately sad that it appears her daughters won’t be close to their new sister due to his cruel actions.”
‘Friends fear deeply for her’
Alice, 57, was a successful actress when she met Ioan on the set of 102 Dalmatians back in 2000.
The stars played love interests Chloe and Kevin in the movie, and their off-screen chemistry was so sizzling that the former model broke off her engagement to another man, Pablo Picasso’s grandson, Olivier.
Alice wore a white strapless gown when she tied the knot with Ioan on a beach in Mexico in 2007, surrounded by red roses, but today, her fairytale wedding seems a lifetime ago as she embarks on a painful new chapter.
Alice has been trying to balance dignity with desperation.
A source close to the star said: “News of Ioan’s growing family appears to have reopened old wounds while forcing her to confront a future that looks very different from the one she once imagined.”
“Pals say Alice is in deep emotional and financial turmoil; she is a mix of emotions.
“Friends deeply fear for her.”
While Alice and Ioan have been divorced for two years, a row over child and spousal support has continued to rage, with our source describing the former couple’s legal battles as ‘exhausting’ and ‘relentless’.
They also look to have been taking a considerable financial toll on both parties.
Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans during their wedding in MexicoCredit: SplashOur source revealed Alice and Ioan’s daughters won’t be close to their new sister, due to his ‘cruel actions’Credit: Getty
In June 2022, Alice launched a GoFundMe page asking for help with her legal bills and in November 2023, she claimed she could not afford to pay rent or buy food, saying she was considering trying for a job at Starbucks but feared she was too old.
“Alice has been trying to balance dignity with desperation,” said a Sun Showbiz insider.
‘Her priority is her children and ensuring they are safe and secure, but she is struggling to shield them from the reality of their situation, provide some sense of normality amongst the chaos and drama and protect them from emotional harm because she can’t provide a stable home for them without his support.
“She will not back down and will fight him for every penny until her girls get what they deserve.”
In a legal filing earlier this year, Ioan accused Alice of writing a devastating text message that looked to be sent by Ella.
“You left us and now you can’t provide for us,” it read.
“You need to get a job daddy.
“Looking after your girlfriend is not a job.
“You are a father who has abandoned his children and doesn’t see them or talk to them.
“You don’t even send Christmas presents.
“It’s pathetic and everyone sees you.
“Ps if there is enough money for us never to become homeless then why aren’t you helping us out?
“You hate mummy more than you love us.”
Despite the fears for her well-being and despite her hardship and the criticism aimed at her, Alice has reassured pals she is determined to keep going for her daughters.
Today, Alice has custody of their two children, and the trio live in a modest home in Encino in the San Fernando Valley after they left their Beverly Hills apartment when she was unable to pay the rent.
The actress claims the existing payments she receives from Ioan, of $3,000 a month in child support and $1,500 a month in spousal support, are not enough, while the actor is trying to reduce his obligations, saying he cannot afford them.
‘She won’t let him destroy her’
With both sides pleading poverty, it is hoped a mediation settlement conference held next month will break the deadlock, but it won’t be easy.
“Despite the fears for her well-being and despite her hardship and the criticism aimed at her, Alice has reassured pals she is determined to keep going for her daughters,” said our source.
“She has described the situation recently as ‘torture’, but she won’t let him destroy her – as much as he tries.”
Besotted Bianca shared her baby news with a sweet image of her kissing Ioan in hospital, saying that the couple were ‘totally in love’ with their daughter.
But as Ioan celebrates the joyful new addition to his family, friends of his ex-wife grow increasingly concerned.
In another cruel blow, Alice lost her beloved brother Tony, who had been a loyal supporter since the disintegration of her marriage, in August.
A Sun Showbiz insider added: “As the legal battle continues and he moves forward with a happy, new chapter of his life, pals close to Alice fear she is stuck in a painful place trying to rebuild, trying to be heard, and, most of all, trying to hold her family together.
“Most of all, the pals worry how this will all end.”
Christmas celebrations return to Bethlehem as thousands gather in Manger Square for the first time since 2022.
Thousands of people have gathered in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve for the first public celebrations since 2022 after the city cancelled or muted festivities for two years out of respect for the thousands killed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Families filled Manger Square in the occupied West Bank city as a giant Christmas tree returned to the plaza, replacing a nativity display used during the war that showed baby Jesus amid rubble and barbed wire, symbolising the devastation in Gaza.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The celebrations were led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic leader in the Holy Land, who arrived in Bethlehem from Jerusalem in the traditional Christmas procession and called for “a Christmas full of light”.
Clergymen and alter boys wait ahead of Christmas service in the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity (R) in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Christmas eve on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Scout bands from towns across the West Bank marched through Bethlehem’s streets, their bagpipes draped with tartan and Palestinian flags.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, its forces have carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank, arresting thousands of Palestinians and sharply restricting movement between cities.
Palestinians say the intensified military presence, road closures and checkpoint delays have deterred visitors, paralysing the tourism sector on which Bethlehem’s economy depends.
The vast majority of those celebrating were local residents, with only a small number of foreign visitors.
Unemployment in Bethlehem surged from 14 percent to 65 percent during the genocidal war on Gaza, Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month. As economic conditions deteriorated, about 4,000 residents left the city in search of work, he added.
Israeli raids and settler attacks
The return of Christmas celebrations comes despite continued raids and large-scale military incursions across the occupied West Bank, even after a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which has been repeatedly violated by Israeli forces, took hold in October.
The raids often entail mass arrests of Palestinians, home searches and demolitions, as well as physical assaults that sometimes lead to deaths.
Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have reached their highest level since the United Nations humanitarian office began recording data in 2006. The attacks have involved killings, beatings and the destruction of property, often under the protection of the Israeli military.
Earlier on Wednesday, more than 570 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under police protection, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Palestinians say such incursions violate the longstanding status quo governing Islam’s third-holiest site.
Israel’s security cabinet has also signed off on plans to formalise 19 illegal settlements across the West Bank, in a move Palestinian officials say deepens a decades-long project of land theft and demographic engineering.
The United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and other countries condemned the move on Wednesday.
“We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements,” said a joint statement released by the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
“We recall that such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fuelling instability.”
Join Los Angeles Times Dodgers beat reporter Jack Harris and columnists Dylan Hernández and Bill Plaschke for our very special 2025 Dodgers Debate Christmas Special.
