Liza Powell
Biography
Liza Powel is the wife of Conan O'Brien, host of NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Her full name is Elizabeth Ann Powel. Liza's hometown is Seattle, Washington. She is the daughter of Seattle Dixieland band-leader Jake Powel [1]. Liza earned a bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1992 [2], [3]. In the fall of 2002, she was working toward her M.F.A. at Columbia University [4].
Liza was working for the Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) advertising agency when she met her future husband. Powel's creative team from FCB New York was hired in 2000 by O'Brien. In a hilarious sketch, the creative team redesigned the ads of O'Brien's Houston Sponsor, Hilton Furniture. Liza was the senior copywriter. The March 3rd, 2000 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien featured FCB's work [5].
After participating in the part of the shoot that took place at FCB, Mr. O'Brien said he told his show's head writer, Mike Sweeney, to "make sure you get everyone's address and phone number." Mr. Sweeney reportedly said, "It's the blonde, isn't it?"
After several weeks of flirtation on the telephone, Conan invited Liza to have coffee at a restaurant in her Upper West Side neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon in April of 2000. As Conan waited for her to arrive, he said, "I was hoping that it would be, 'Oh yeah, she's not the way I remembered her looking.' And 'this is disappointing somehow.'" But when Ms. Powel walked in, "the first thing I thought," he said, "was, 'Oh shit,' It's very hard to explain, but I just knew. I was, like, 'There goes my cool 'one of People magazine's 50 Most Eligible Baaaaa--" He never finished the word, letting it wave off into a Lou Costello-esque stammer [6]. They dated for over a year and were engaged in early July of 2001. [7]
Liza and Conan were married on Saturday, January 12, 2002 in Seattle, Washington. Liza was 31 and Conan was 38 at the time. The wedding took place at St. James Cathedral during a downpour. The ceremony was private and was attended by close friends and family. Friend and fellow Groundling alum Lisa Kudrow was in attendance, as was former Late Night sidekick Andy Richter. O’Brien’s Harvard roommate, Paul O’Brien (no relation), married the couple. Liza wore a white, empire-waisted Vera Wang gown which was covered by a lace floor length coat. She carried a matching purse and red roses. O’Brien wore a dark tuxedo, white shirt, and cream tie. According to Eonline.com, the minister described the bride to the local news (KING-TV), "She’s a beautiful, beautiful, wonderful person in all ways." Father O'Brien reportedly asked the 200-plus guests to offer words that best described the bride and groom during the ceremony. "For Liza, people said things like 'strong,' 'loyal,' 'intelligent,'" said a relative of Powel. "And for Conan, they said 'compassionate,' 'caring,' 'funny.'" Their reception took place at Seattle's Union Station [8], ("Show Time", 2002).
The couple welcome their first child, Neve, on Tuesday, October 14, 2003. Neve was born in a New York City hospital at 5:13 p.m, and she weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces [9]. Regarding the birth of Neve, Conan stated, "It is without a doubt -- next to meeting my wife -- the best thing that's ever happened to me." Conan and Liza are rumored to currently be expecting their second child. In an article from the Houston Chronicle dated 6/8/05, Conan said, we have "another one [baby] on the way (in November), and it's all because of Houston." Conan has not yet mentioned the exciting news on the show.
References
- Conan O’Brien Weds Ad Exec Liz (sic) Powel (January 17, 2002). Buzzle.com.
- DiGiacomo, Frank. Conan O'Brien is Mr. Emmy. (September 23, 2002). New York Observer.
- McDaniel, Mike. (June 8, 2005). "Conan O'Brien gets Late Night revenge: Show finally gets an early time slot in Houston market." Houston Chronicle.
- New York Post. July 12th, 2001.
- "Show Time: Late Night's Conan O'Brien lands his heart a cohost, tying the knot in Seattle with ad exec Liza Powel." (January 28, 2002). People Weekly.
- Smyka, Mark. (March 9, 2000). Conan O'Brien And FCB Team Up For Texas Chainsaw Ad Mayhems. Boards Online.