Before building a name for herself in the baking world, Sandra Bullock’s sister Gesine Bullock-Prado spent years working in film and television alongside the Oscar-winning actor.
Six years younger than Sandra, Gesine worked as both a producer and an attorney for Fortis Films, the production company behind projects such as Miss Congeniality and Practical Magic.
Her life took a different direction after the death of the sisters’ mother, Helga, in 2000.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gesine described the entertainment business as ‘relentless, exhausting and disillusioning,’ explaining that she increasingly turned to baking while dealing with her grief.
About five years later, she left Hollywood and relocated to Montpelier, Vermont, where she began pursuing baking as a full-time profession.
Even with that major career change, Gesine said her bond with Sandra did not suffer.
“We have a healthy relationship, and we’re grown women who understand the nature of business,” she said. “Sometimes a particular profession simply doesn’t suit. A sister can tell when a decision is right and healthy. That certainly was the case with us.”
Food had long been a meaningful part of their family life. In comments to Texas Monthly, Gesine recalled that she and Sandra were raised on a vegetarian, macrobiotic diet by their mother.
But visits with relatives brought very different meals and treats.
“We would have these times when we would go to Germany where it was all-out craziness with pastries and foods,” Gesine said, adding that trips to see Southern relatives meant indulging in fried chicken, Oreos, and soda instead.
After teaching herself pastry techniques, Gesine opened Gesine Gourmet and Confectionary in Montpelier, operating the shop from 2005 to 2008. She later founded a baking school, Sugar Glider Kitchen, in Hartford, Vermont.
Her second act grew into a successful media career as well. She has written six cookbooks, beginning with her memoir My Life from Scratch, and later hosted the Food Network series Baked In Vermont in 2017. Her most recent cookbook, My Harvest Kitchen, was published in October 2025, and she has continued teaching both in person and online from her Vermont baking school.
She has also been featured as a judge on competition programs including Beat Bobby Flay, Buddy vs. Duff, and Worst Cooks.
Although the sisters chose very different professional paths, they have remained close, spending holidays together and occasionally collaborating on camera, including a joint recipe appearance on the Today Show in 2018.
Gesine also contributed recipes to Sandra’s Austin bakery, Walton’s Fancy & Staple, in 2009.
She later spoke publicly in support of Sandra after the death of Sandra’s longtime partner, Bryan Randall, who died from ALS in August 2023.
In a tribute shared on Instagram, Gesine wrote that Randall had “the best of caretakers in my amazing sister and the band of nurses she assembled who helped her look after him in their home.”