Heidi Van Pelt is an American vegan chef, entrepreneur, and former restaurant owner who became widely known after marrying former Home Improvement child actor Taran Noah Smith. Their relationship drew major public attention because Smith was 17 when they married in 2001, while Van Pelt was approximately 16 years older.
However, Heidi Van Pelt’s biography involves much more than a controversial celebrity marriage.
She developed a career around vegan food, raw cuisine, cashew-based cheese, restaurant ownership, and sustainable eating. During her marriage to Smith, the couple became associated with Playfood, a vegan food venture known particularly for non-dairy cashew cheese. After their relationship deteriorated, Heidi returned to Kansas City and eventually opened Füd, a vegan restaurant that became part of the city’s alternative-food scene.
The restaurant operated for several years before closing amid a business dispute in 2017.
Despite this documented professional history, many websites focus almost entirely on Heidi’s marriage while publishing questionable claims about her exact birthday, education, height, net worth, parents, and current life.
Some of those details may be accurate. However, they are not all supported by strong independent records.
Therefore, this biography focuses on the information that can be established more responsibly while clearly separating documented facts from commonly repeated but weakly sourced claims.
Quick Answer: Heidi Van Pelt is an American vegan chef and entrepreneur best known as the former wife of Home Improvement actor Taran Noah Smith. They married on April 27, 2001, when Smith was 17 and Van Pelt was about 16 years older. Their marriage ended in 2007. During their relationship, they developed the vegan food business Playfood. Heidi later returned to Kansas City and opened the vegan restaurant Füd in 2010.
Heidi Van Pelt Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Heidi Van Pelt |
| Later professional name | Heidi Van Pelt-Belle also appeared publicly |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Marriage to Taran Noah Smith and vegan food career |
| Profession | Vegan chef, entrepreneur, former restaurant owner |
| Former husband | Taran Noah Smith |
| Marriage date | April 27, 2001 |
| Divorce | 2007 |
| Age difference | Approximately 16 years |
| Business with Smith | Playfood |
| Playfood specialty | Vegan/non-dairy cashew cheese and organic food |
| Later restaurant | Füd |
| Füd location | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Füd opened | 2010 |
| Füd closed | 2017 |
| Birth year | Frequently reported as 1968 |
| Exact birthday | Commonly reported as July 11, but not strongly verified |
| Age in 2026 | About 57–58 depending on exact birth date |
| Birthplace | Missouri is frequently reported |
| Education | Detailed claims remain weakly verified |
| Net worth | Not reliably verified |
| Current career | Not clearly documented publicly |
Who Is Heidi Van Pelt?
Heidi Van Pelt is a vegan chef and entrepreneur whose name entered national entertainment coverage because of her relationship with Taran Noah Smith.
Smith had spent most of his childhood playing Mark Taylor, the youngest son on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement.
By the time Smith reached his late teenage years, he had decided that he did not want to continue acting.
During this transitional period, he became involved with Heidi.
Their age difference quickly attracted media attention.
Yet focusing entirely on that relationship creates an incomplete picture of Heidi.
She had a strong interest in food, alternative diets, vegan cooking, raw cuisine, and nutrition.
Those interests eventually developed into actual businesses.
The most notable were:
Playfood
and later:
Füd
Los Angeles food coverage credited Heidi with creating the cashew cheese associated with Playfood, while Kansas City reporting later identified her as the chef-owner behind Füd.
Therefore, “vegan chef and entrepreneur” is a more useful professional description than simply “celebrity ex-wife.”
Why Is Heidi Van Pelt Famous?
Heidi became famous primarily because she married Taran Noah Smith.
The circumstances made the relationship unusually newsworthy.
Smith had spent his childhood on a hugely successful American sitcom.
Millions of television viewers had watched him grow up on screen.
Then, shortly after leaving acting, he married a woman significantly older than himself.
That created a natural tabloid story.
The marriage also overlapped with another highly public period in Smith’s life.
He became involved in legal disagreements with his parents concerning his earnings from Home Improvement.
As a result, stories about his money, parents, marriage, and transition away from acting frequently appeared together.
Heidi therefore became associated with the dramatic post-Hollywood period of Smith’s life.
However, years later, she developed a separate reputation in Kansas City as a vegan restaurateur.
That second identity is important because it explains what Heidi did after the celebrity coverage faded.
When Was Heidi Van Pelt Born?
Many websites state that Heidi Van Pelt was born on July 11, 1968.
However, the exact date is difficult to verify through strong original sources.
A contemporary newspaper profile from April 2002 described Heidi as 33 years old.
That supports a birth year around 1968 or 1969.
It does not, by itself, prove the frequently repeated July 11 date.
Therefore, July 11, 1968 can be described as a widely reported date, but it should not be presented with the same certainty as the well-documented date of her marriage.
This distinction is important for biography content.
Multiple websites can repeat the same date without independently confirming it.
How Old Is Heidi Van Pelt?
If the widely circulated July 11, 1968 birth date is correct, Heidi Van Pelt would be 58 years old as of August 2026.
However, because the exact birthday is not strongly verified, her age should be treated as approximate.
A contemporary report confirming that she was 33 in April 2002 provides much better evidence that she was born around the late 1960s.
Therefore, a safe description is:
Heidi Van Pelt is approximately 57–58 years old in 2026.
Where Was Heidi Van Pelt Born?
Missouri is commonly reported as Heidi Van Pelt’s birthplace.
Later local reporting clearly establishes that she grew up in Kansas City and returned there after leaving California.
That Kansas City connection is much more confidently documented than the precise hospital, town, or birth address sometimes published by celebrity websites.
Her return to Kansas City eventually became critical to her career.
It was there that she transformed her vegan food experience into a local restaurant concept.
Early Life and Family Background
Reliable information about Heidi’s parents, siblings, and early childhood remains limited.
This is another area where online biographies frequently provide names or detailed narratives without strong documentation.
The publicly useful fact is that Heidi had longstanding ties to the Kansas City area.
After years in California, she described Kansas City as the place she returned to.
Her later restaurant business also drew heavily on her connection with the local community.
Therefore, the safest biography avoids inventing a detailed childhood story simply because readers might search for one.
Education and College Claims
Several websites provide a detailed educational timeline for Heidi.
Common claims include attendance at:
- Oak Park High School
- Stephens College
- University of Missouri
- University of Washington
Some websites further state that she studied fashion design, German, philosophy, or Russian studies.
Others claim she once considered working for the CIA.
These stories are unusually specific.
However, they mostly circulate through biography websites rather than strong university or contemporary professional records.
Therefore, they should not be treated as firmly established.
It is possible that parts of the educational history are accurate.
Still, a responsible biography should not present every detail simply because several low-quality sites repeat it.
What can be more confidently established is Heidi’s eventual specialization in vegan food and restaurant entrepreneurship.
Heidi Van Pelt’s Career Before Taran Noah Smith
The early stages of Heidi’s career are less clearly documented than her later food businesses.
Some websites describe involvement in media, film production, nutrition, and various entrepreneurial projects.
However, not every claimed job can be independently verified.
Her strongest documented professional identity developed around food.
By the early 2000s, Heidi was deeply connected with vegan cooking.
She became particularly known for creating non-dairy cheese using cashews.
That food eventually became central to Playfood.
How Did Heidi Van Pelt Meet Taran Noah Smith?
The exact circumstances of Heidi and Taran’s first meeting are described differently across websites.
Some accounts claim they met through a friend.
Others connect their meeting to college or vegan circles.
Reliable modern reporting does not provide enough detail to confidently reconstruct the exact first encounter.
What is clear is that their relationship developed after Smith’s acting career ended.
Home Improvement concluded in 1999.
Smith was still a teenager and had spent much of his childhood working in television.
He later explained that leaving acting gave him his first opportunity to decide what he actually wanted to do with his life.
During this period, Heidi became an important figure in his personal life.
Who Is Taran Noah Smith?
Taran Noah Smith is an American former child actor best known for playing Mark Taylor on Home Improvement.
He was born on April 8, 1984, in California.
Smith joined the sitcom when he was approximately seven years old.
He appeared alongside:
- Tim Allen
- Patricia Richardson
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas
- Zachery Ty Bryan
- Richard Karn
The series became one of the biggest American television comedies of the 1990s.
Smith played the youngest of the three Taylor brothers.
Unlike some of his co-stars, however, he chose not to build a major acting career after the show ended.
He eventually moved into entrepreneurship, environmental interests, disaster-relief work, and projects involving submersibles.
Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith’s Marriage
Heidi Van Pelt married Taran Noah Smith on April 27, 2001.
The timing attracted immediate attention.
Smith had turned 17 earlier that month.
Heidi was approximately 32 or 33.
That created an age difference of roughly 16 years.
The relationship became controversial largely because Smith was still a teenager.
Many reports emphasized the unusual age gap.
However, the couple remained together for several years.
Their relationship also became closely connected with business.
Both were interested in vegan food, and they eventually developed Playfood.
Why Their Age Difference Became Controversial
Age differences between adults are not automatically remarkable.
The unusual element in Heidi and Taran’s marriage was Smith’s age when the wedding occurred.
He was 17.
Heidi was in her early 30s.
Furthermore, Smith had been a child celebrity whose career earnings and relationship with his parents were already receiving public attention.
That combination meant the marriage became part of a larger narrative involving:
- Child stardom
- Money
- Family disagreement
- Independence
- Hollywood
- An older spouse
The story therefore attracted much more coverage than it might have if both partners had been established adults outside entertainment.
Did Taran Noah Smith’s Parents Support the Marriage?
Smith’s relationship with his parents became strained during the same general period.
He had legal disagreements with them involving his earnings and control of his trust fund.
Contemporary reporting described a difficult family situation.
Smith eventually gained control of his money when he turned 18.
Years later, however, he reassessed the conflict.
He said that after maturing, he realized his parents had been trying to protect him rather than misuse his money.
This later change in perspective is important.
Older celebrity articles frequently portray the disagreement as a simple story of parents taking a child star’s fortune.
Smith himself later rejected that interpretation.
The $1.5 Million Trust Fund Dispute
One of the most widely discussed episodes in Smith’s post-Home Improvement life involved an approximately $1.5 million trust fund.
Smith believed his parents had mishandled or controlled money he earned while acting.
His parents disputed the accusation.
The legal dispute became highly public.
At the time, Heidi was frequently mentioned in coverage because she was Smith’s wife.
However, it would be misleading to assume that every aspect of the trust dispute was caused by Heidi.
The disagreement existed between Smith and his parents.
Later in life, Smith said he came to believe his parents had been protecting him.
That nuance matters when discussing Heidi’s role.
What Was Playfood?
Playfood was a vegan food business associated with Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith.
The company became known particularly for non-dairy cheese products.
Cashews formed a major part of its cheese alternatives.
At a time when vegan cheese was far less common in American supermarkets than it is today, products like Playfood offered an unusual alternative.
The venture combined several ideas:
- Vegan eating
- Organic food
- Raw cuisine
- Dairy alternatives
- Sustainable food
- Plant-based entrepreneurship
Playfood became a major part of Heidi and Taran’s shared professional life.
Heidi Van Pelt’s Cashew Cheese
Heidi appears to have been the creative food specialist behind Playfood’s best-known cheese.
Los Angeles food coverage specifically credited her with inventing the cashew cheese.
That distinction is important.
Some online biographies treat Playfood primarily as “Taran Noah Smith’s business” because he was the famous person.
However, Heidi brought actual culinary experience to the venture.
Her knowledge of vegan cooking helped define the product.
This also explains why she was able to continue building food businesses after her relationship with Taran ended.
Was Heidi Van Pelt Vegan?
Yes, Heidi’s professional life became strongly centered around vegan and raw food.
She worked with plant-based ingredients years before vegan dining became as mainstream as it is today.
Her restaurant and food-business concepts promoted:
- Meat-free alternatives
- Dairy-free dishes
- Cashew cheese
- Raw ingredients
- Sustainable food
- Creative plant-based versions of familiar meals
Her interest appears to have gone beyond simply following a diet.
It became a central professional theme.
Playfood and the Couple’s Business Partnership
Marriage and business often create complicated financial relationships.
For Heidi and Taran, those worlds became deeply connected.
Playfood was not merely a hobby.
It became an actual food venture with commercial ambitions.
The business sold vegan cheese and attracted attention from food writers.
However, as the marriage deteriorated, Playfood became part of the conflict between them.
By the mid-2000s, Heidi and Taran were no longer simply arguing as spouses.
They were also separating as business partners.
When Did Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith Separate?
PEOPLE later described Heidi and Taran as having split in 2005.
Their legal divorce, however, came later.
The couple filed for divorce in 2007.
Therefore, the most accurate timeline is:
Marriage: 2001
Relationship breakdown/separation: by around 2005
Divorce proceedings: 2007
This distinction explains why some websites give different lengths for their marriage.
They may be measuring either the relationship itself or the legal marriage.
Why Did Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith Divorce?
Their divorce became contentious.
Business disagreements involving Playfood complicated the separation.
Some reports contain dramatic accusations from both sides.
However, many of those claims come from sensational entertainment coverage and should be handled carefully.
What can be said confidently is that:
- Their personal relationship deteriorated.
- They separated.
- Their business relationship also broke down.
- Playfood became part of their legal conflict.
- Divorce proceedings took place in 2007.
There is no need to reproduce every accusation as though a court definitively proved it.
The Playfood Legal Dispute
The business conflict continued after the couple separated.
Smith accused Heidi of redirecting company assets or business activity.
Their dispute involved ownership and control of the vegan food venture.
This period generated considerable tabloid attention because it combined a celebrity divorce with money and business claims.
Eventually, however, the most important outcome for Heidi’s biography was geographic and professional.
She returned to Kansas City.
From there, she rebuilt her food career independently.
Did Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith Have a Child?
This question is surprisingly complicated.
ABC’s Good Morning America reported in 2012 that Heidi and Taran had a son named Nolan Eric Smith before their divorce.
However, several other major biographies and later profiles of Smith omit any reference to a child from the marriage.
That creates an inconsistency in the public record.
Because ABC News is a substantial source, the claim cannot simply be dismissed.
At the same time, the lack of consistent confirmation makes it inappropriate to publish extensive personal information about the alleged child.
Therefore, the careful wording is:
ABC News reported that Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith had a son named Nolan Eric Smith, although many other major profiles omit this detail.
Readers should be cautious about biography websites that provide extensive information about the child without stronger supporting records.
Moving Back to Kansas City
Heidi’s return to Kansas City became the beginning of her most independently documented career chapter.
Local reporting states that she moved back in 2005.
At that point, Kansas City had far fewer vegan dining options than it would develop in later years.
Instead of abandoning the food industry, Heidi continued experimenting with plant-based cuisine.
She reportedly hosted underground dining events and tested recipes through alternative food venues.
This approach allowed her to develop a local following.
Eventually, those experiments evolved into a permanent restaurant.
Life as a Vegan Chef in Kansas City
Heidi’s Kansas City career demonstrates that she had genuine culinary interests independent of Taran.
She did not simply disappear after the divorce.
Instead, she continued developing:
- Cashew cheeses
- Vegan comfort food
- Raw dishes
- Plant-based meat substitutes
- Sustainable cuisine
Her cooking style focused on making recognizable comfort food without animal products.
That approach helped distinguish her from restaurants that offered only salads or basic vegetarian meals.
She wanted vegan food to feel indulgent and creative.
What Was Füd?
Füd was a vegan restaurant in Kansas City opened by Heidi Van Pelt-Belle in 2010.
The restaurant operated in the city’s Westside area.
Local food coverage identified Heidi as its chef-owner.
Füd offered plant-based interpretations of comfort-food dishes.
Its menu included items such as:
- Vegan tacos
- Lasagna
- Plant-based fried dishes
- Raw meals
- Cashew cheese
- Vegan burgers
Heidi’s earlier experience with Playfood clearly influenced the concept.
Cashew-based products remained part of her culinary identity.
Why Füd Was Different
Today, vegan restaurants are common in many major American cities.
In 2010, the market looked very different.
Plant-based meat alternatives had not reached their current level of mainstream popularity.
Large fast-food chains generally did not offer vegan menus.
Supermarkets had fewer dairy-free cheeses.
Füd therefore operated during an earlier stage of modern plant-based food culture.
Heidi’s approach focused on taking familiar dishes and recreating them without animal ingredients.
That made the restaurant relevant to both committed vegans and curious diners.
Heidi Van Pelt-Belle
Kansas City restaurant coverage often identified Heidi as Heidi Van Pelt-Belle.
This variation appears in reporting about Füd.
The name reflects another chapter in her personal life after Taran Noah Smith.
Local coverage from 2010 identified Jerimiah Rozzo-Belle as her partner in the restaurant.
By 2017, later reporting referred to Jeremiah Rozzo as Heidi’s ex-husband and business partner.
This confirms that Heidi entered another marriage after her divorce from Taran.
However, details about the relationship remain much less publicly documented than her first marriage.
Heidi Van Pelt and Jerimiah Rozzo
Jerimiah Rozzo became an important figure in Füd.
The couple worked together on the restaurant.
Their professional relationship lasted for years.
However, by 2017, both their personal and business relationships had deteriorated.
Local reporting described a complicated dispute over management and ownership of Füd.
Heidi owned the majority stake, while Rozzo held a substantial minority share.
The conflict eventually contributed to the restaurant’s closure.
What Happened to Füd?
Füd closed in 2017 following a highly publicized internal dispute.
Kansas City publication The Pitch reported extensively on the restaurant’s final period.
The disagreement involved Heidi, her business partner and former husband, and restaurant employees.
Different people involved offered conflicting descriptions of what had happened.
The situation culminated in the restaurant shutting down.
The closure ended a roughly seven-year run for Füd.
Whatever the personal disagreements behind the ending, the restaurant represented a significant chapter in Heidi Van Pelt’s professional life.
Füd’s Legacy in Kansas City Vegan Food
Füd existed before the current explosion of plant-based restaurants and vegan consumer products.
For several years, it provided Kansas City diners with creative vegan dishes.
Heidi’s use of cashew cheese also connected the restaurant to her earlier Playfood work.
Therefore, Füd should not be treated simply as a footnote to her marriage.
It demonstrates continuity across Heidi’s career:
Playfood → vegan cheese → Kansas City → underground dining → Füd.
That career path is one of the biggest gaps in competitor biographies.
What Happened to Playfood?
Playfood eventually dissolved.
The business had become deeply connected with Heidi and Taran’s divorce dispute.
After their relationship ended, maintaining the same partnership became difficult.
Heidi subsequently continued developing plant-based food concepts independently.
Her Kansas City restaurant effectively became the next major phase of her food career.
Taran, meanwhile, moved toward different interests.
Their careers diverged as much as their personal lives did.
What Happened to Taran Noah Smith After the Divorce?
Taran Noah Smith never returned to acting as a full-time career.
Instead, he explored several unconventional interests.
He became involved in environmental and disaster-relief work.
He also worked around boats and submersibles.
More recent reporting has identified him with the Community Submersibles Project, where he teaches people about operating submarines.
His adult life therefore looks dramatically different from the acting career viewers may remember.
This is relevant because it shows that both Taran and Heidi eventually moved beyond their shared Hollywood-era story.
Did Taran Reconcile With His Parents?
Yes.
Years after the highly public legal dispute, Smith publicly reassessed the situation.
He acknowledged that his parents had been trying to protect him.
This later reconciliation changes how his teenage conflict should be viewed.
Stories written during the dispute often presented the family situation in extreme terms.
With age, Smith himself offered a more nuanced interpretation.
That makes older articles describing Heidi, Taran, and his parents worth reading cautiously.
Heidi Van Pelt’s Net Worth
Heidi Van Pelt’s exact net worth is not publicly verified.
Some websites publish estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to several million.
However, no strong financial disclosure supports a precise number.
Operating businesses does not automatically reveal personal wealth.
A restaurant can generate revenue while also carrying:
- Rent
- Payroll
- Food costs
- Taxes
- Debt
- Equipment costs
- Insurance
- Business liabilities
Likewise, money involved in a divorce settlement does not automatically represent permanent net worth.
Therefore:
Heidi Van Pelt’s current net worth is unknown.
Did Heidi Receive Taran Noah Smith’s Fortune?
There is no strong basis for claiming that Heidi simply took Taran’s Home Improvement fortune.
Their finances were complicated by:
- Smith’s trust fund
- Marriage
- Property
- Playfood
- Divorce
- Business disputes
Online stories often reduce this into a dramatic narrative where Heidi married Smith solely for money.
That motive cannot be established simply from the existence of an age difference or financial conflict.
Responsible biography writing should not assign motives without evidence.
Heidi Van Pelt’s Height
Heidi’s height is frequently listed as 5 feet 8 inches.
However, that measurement comes mostly from celebrity biography databases rather than a strong official record.
Therefore, it should be treated as unverified.
Her height has little relevance to the parts of her biography that can be documented meaningfully.
Was Heidi Van Pelt an Actress?
IMDb and some biography sites connect Heidi with entertainment appearances.
However, acting was not the profession that defined her long-term public career.
Calling Heidi primarily an actress creates a misleading impression.
Her most clearly documented career is in food and restaurant entrepreneurship.
A better description is:
vegan chef, entrepreneur, and former restaurant owner.
Was Heidi Van Pelt a Film Producer?
Some biographies state that Heidi once operated a production company or attempted to build a career in film.
However, those early-career claims are not as well documented as her later food work.
Therefore, it is better not to present film production as her primary occupation.
If mentioned, it should be described as a reported early interest rather than the defining part of her career.
Is Heidi Van Pelt Still Vegan?
Heidi’s documented businesses were strongly centered on vegan cuisine.
However, there is little reliable recent information about her current diet after Füd closed.
Therefore, saying:
“Heidi built her career around vegan food”
is stronger than claiming:
“Heidi currently follows a vegan diet in 2026.”
Personal dietary choices can change.
Without a recent direct statement, the historical professional description is safer.
Where Is Heidi Van Pelt Now?
Heidi largely disappeared from national celebrity coverage after the Taran Noah Smith divorce.
She remained locally visible in Kansas City because of Füd.
After the restaurant closed in 2017, however, her public professional footprint became much smaller.
There is no strong recent record establishing exactly:
- Where she currently lives
- Whether she owns another restaurant
- Whether she remarried again
- What business she currently operates
- Whether she still works professionally as a chef
Therefore, “Heidi Van Pelt now” is one of those search questions that does not have a satisfying verified answer.
The responsible conclusion is:
Her current private and professional life is not well documented publicly.
Does Heidi Van Pelt Have Instagram?
There are social-media accounts using Heidi Van Pelt’s name.
However, no account should automatically be presented as her official profile simply because the name matches.
Her public identity has changed over time, including the use of Van Pelt-Belle.
Without strong verification connecting a social account directly to Taran Noah Smith’s former wife and the Füd chef, linking one risks misidentification.
Therefore, this biography does not claim a verified Instagram account.
Why Heidi Van Pelt Keeps a Low Profile
Heidi has not publicly explained in detail why she became less visible.
However, her celebrity exposure was never based on a desire to become a mainstream television star.
Much of her national attention came through Taran.
Her own career centered on food businesses.
Once both the marriage and later restaurant ended, there was simply less reason for entertainment outlets to cover her.
A person can continue living a full professional and personal life without producing material that appears in Google search results.
Therefore, limited recent information should not automatically be interpreted as disappearance or failure.
Common Myths About Heidi Van Pelt
Myth: Heidi Van Pelt became famous as an actress
Her strongest documented profession is vegan chef and entrepreneur, not major Hollywood actress.
Myth: Her exact birthday is unquestionably July 11, 1968
That date is widely repeated, but strong primary verification is limited.
Myth: Heidi was exactly 33 when she married Taran
Contemporary coverage places her around 32 when they married and 33 the following year. The age gap is much better documented than the exact birthday.
Myth: She only became involved in vegan food because of Taran
Heidi appears to have been the culinary specialist behind their food venture and continued the same career after their marriage ended.
Myth: Playfood was entirely Taran’s company
The venture was associated with both spouses, and Los Angeles food coverage specifically credited Heidi with developing its cashew cheese.
Myth: Heidi disappeared after the divorce
She returned to Kansas City and later opened Füd, which operated for several years.
Myth: Füd closed immediately
The restaurant opened in 2010 and continued until 2017.
Myth: Heidi’s net worth is definitely several million dollars
No reliable financial records establish her current wealth.
Myth: She received all of Taran’s television money
That is an unsupported oversimplification of a complicated trust, marriage, property, and business history.
Myth: Heidi and Taran definitely had no children
ABC News reported that they had a son named Nolan Eric Smith, although other major profiles omit this detail. The public record is inconsistent.
Heidi Van Pelt Biography Timeline
| Year/Period | Event |
| Late 1960s | Heidi is born; 1968 is widely reported |
| Earlier years | Grows up with ties to the Kansas City area |
| 1990s | Develops interests reportedly involving media, nutrition, and alternative food |
| Late 1990s/2000 | Meets former child actor Taran Noah Smith |
| April 27, 2001 | Marries Taran Noah Smith |
| 2002 | Contemporary reporting describes Heidi as 33 |
| Early 2000s | Develops vegan food ventures with Taran |
| Mid-2000s | Playfood becomes known for vegan cashew cheese |
| Around 2005 | Relationship with Taran breaks down; Heidi returns to Kansas City |
| 2007 | Divorce proceedings and Playfood dispute become public |
| Late 2000s | Builds local following through vegan dining activities |
| 2010 | Opens Füd in Kansas City |
| 2010s | Operates Füd and becomes locally known for vegan comfort food |
| 2017 | Füd closes amid internal business conflict |
| After 2017 | Public information about Heidi becomes much more limited |
| 2026 | Current personal and professional status remains largely private |
Frequently Asked Questions About Heidi Van Pelt
Who is Heidi Van Pelt?
Heidi Van Pelt is an American vegan chef and entrepreneur best known as Taran Noah Smith’s former wife and for her involvement in Playfood and the Kansas City vegan restaurant Füd.
Is Heidi Van Pelt Taran Noah Smith’s ex-wife?
Yes. Heidi married Taran Noah Smith in 2001. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2007.
When did Heidi Van Pelt marry Taran Noah Smith?
They married on April 27, 2001.
How old was Taran Noah Smith when he married Heidi?
Taran had recently turned 17 when the marriage took place.
How old was Heidi Van Pelt when she married Taran?
Contemporary and established reporting places Heidi at approximately 32 at the time. She was about 16 years older than Taran.
What was the age difference between Heidi and Taran?
Their age gap was approximately 16 years.
Why was their marriage controversial?
The relationship attracted controversy because Taran was 17 when he married Heidi, while she was in her early 30s.
How long were Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith married?
They legally remained married from 2001 until 2007, although established coverage indicates they had separated by around 2005.
Why did Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith divorce?
Their relationship and business partnership deteriorated. Their separation also produced disputes involving Playfood. Detailed allegations from either side should be treated cautiously.
What was Playfood?
Playfood was a vegan food venture associated with Heidi and Taran. It became particularly known for non-dairy cashew cheese.
Did Heidi Van Pelt invent Playfood’s cashew cheese?
Los Angeles food coverage credited Heidi with creating the cashew cheese associated with Playfood.
Is Heidi Van Pelt a chef?
Yes. Her strongest documented professional identity is as a vegan chef and restaurant entrepreneur.
Was Heidi Van Pelt vegan?
Her businesses and culinary work were centered heavily on vegan and raw food.
What is Füd?
Füd was a vegan restaurant in Kansas City operated by Heidi Van Pelt-Belle.
When did Füd open?
Füd opened in Kansas City in 2010.
What happened to Füd?
The restaurant closed in 2017 following an internal business dispute.
Did Heidi Van Pelt return to Kansas City?
Yes. Local reporting states that she returned to Kansas City in 2005 and later built a vegan food business there.
Did Heidi Van Pelt remarry?
Kansas City reporting later referred to Füd business partner Jerimiah Rozzo as Heidi’s ex-husband, indicating that she married again after Taran.
Does Heidi Van Pelt have children?
ABC News reported that Heidi and Taran had a son named Nolan Eric Smith. However, other major biographies do not consistently mention a child, so the public record is not uniform.
When was Heidi Van Pelt born?
July 11, 1968 is widely reported online. However, the exact birthday is not strongly verified through primary public records.
How old is Heidi Van Pelt?
If the commonly reported July 11, 1968 date is correct, she is 58 years old as of August 2026. Strong contemporary evidence at least places her birth around 1968–1969.
Where is Heidi Van Pelt from?
She has strong documented ties to Kansas City, Missouri, where she grew up and later returned to operate Füd.
What is Heidi Van Pelt’s net worth?
Her exact net worth is not publicly verified. Specific figures published on celebrity biography sites should be treated as speculation.
Is Heidi Van Pelt an actress?
She has been linked with entertainment-related appearances, but acting is not her best-documented career. She is more accurately described as a vegan chef and entrepreneur.
Where is Heidi Van Pelt now?
Her current personal and professional life is not clearly documented in reliable recent public sources.
Does Heidi Van Pelt still own a restaurant?
Füd closed in 2017. There is no strong recent evidence confirming that she currently operates another restaurant.
Is Heidi Van Pelt on Instagram?
There is no clearly verified official public Instagram profile that should confidently be linked to Taran Noah Smith’s former wife.
Conclusion
Heidi Van Pelt’s Marriage and Public Attention
Heidi Van Pelt is often remembered because of her unusual marriage to former Home Improvement actor Taran Noah Smith. The couple married on April 27, 2001, when Taran was 17 and Heidi was approximately 16 years older.
Their age difference attracted significant media attention. The marriage also unfolded during Taran’s highly public conflict with his parents over his childhood acting earnings. Eventually, both the relationship and their shared business interests deteriorated. They separated by the mid-2000s and divorced in 2007.
Her Career as a Vegan Chef and Entrepreneur
However, Heidi Van Pelt’s biography extends beyond her marriage to a former child actor. She developed expertise in vegan cooking and helped build Playfood, where her cashew-based cheese attracted attention from Los Angeles food writers.
After returning to Kansas City, she continued developing plant-based cuisine. In 2010, she opened Füd, a restaurant that served vegan versions of familiar comfort foods at a time when plant-based dining was less mainstream than it is today.
Füd operated for approximately seven years before closing in 2017 amid a complicated business dispute.
What Remains Unknown About Heidi Van Pelt
Since the restaurant closed, Heidi Van Pelt has largely remained outside national and local media coverage. As a result, several details about her current life are difficult to verify.
Her exact net worth is unknown, her current career is not well documented, and her precise residence remains private. Her exact date of birth is also less firmly established than many biography websites suggest.
Rather than filling these gaps with speculation, the available information presents a more balanced picture. Heidi Van Pelt was not simply the older woman who married a teenage child star. She was also a vegan chef and entrepreneur who participated in the early development of plant-based cashew cheese, built a recognizable food business, returned to her hometown region, and operated one of Kansas City’s distinctive vegan restaurants for several years.
