AJ Rochester
| Ajay Rochester | |
|---|---|
| Born |
17 April 1969 Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation | Television presenter of The Biggest Loser, author, actress, comedian, speaker |
| Known for | The Biggest Loser |
| Children | Kai Rochester |
Ajay Rochester (born in 1969 in Sydney) is an Australian actress and author. She was the host of the Australian version of reality weight-loss television series The Biggest Loser, for which she hosted a total of four series between 2006 and 2009.
Rochester was adopted as a child, and states she was emotionally and physically abused by her adoptive mother. She located her birth mother in 1992 after years of searching. Her birth mother suicided a year later. Rochester has a son Kai, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at the age of five. Rochester suffered from obesity, which she attributed to the death of her birth mother and her estrangement from her adoptive mother. She resolved to lose weight following the birth of her child, and shed over 50 kilograms since giving birth. She was engaged to British-born telecommunications manager Martin Gleave, but called off the wedding and ended the relationship in August 2007.
Recording her weight loss after her son's birth, she filmed the documentary Larger Than Life which aired on The Lifestyle channel. It followed Rochester for a year as she lost weight and took back her life.
Since then, she has been involved in several weight loss projects, most notably as host of four seasons (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) The Biggest Loser on Network Ten.
She founded a website, "The Healthy Body Club", and authored the books Confessions of a Reformed Dieter, Blubberguts and The Lazy Girl's Guide to Losing Weight and Getting Fit. Rochester also published a children's book called Blubberguts with Hodder Headline's Hotshots series.
Rochester has also published two more titles with new Holland including cookbook Food You Love and self-help inspirational book 5-Minute Diet Book.
Rochester joined a weight loss reality show as a celebrity contestant, Excess Baggage which was broadcast in January through March 2012. Rochester won the show and her charity the NOH8 Campaign received a $60,000 donation for her efforts. During Excess Baggage Rochester struggled with the physical/sport challenges but excelled when they implemented intellectual challenges, which Ajay attributed to being a super nerd at school, where she dodged doing sport by being the youngest and longest running editor of her school newspaper and yearbook.
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