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Maria Menounos

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Maria Menounos
Menounos in January 2008
Born (1978-06-08) June 8, 1978 (age 46)
Medford, Massachusetts,
United States
Alma materEmerson College
Occupation(s)Actress, journalist, television presenter, professional wrestler, CEO and co-founder of AfterBuzz TV
Years active1995–present
Known forOn-air correspondent on Today, Access Hollywood and Extra
Board member ofAfterBuzz TV
SpouseKeven Undergaro
Ring name(s)Maria Menounos
Billed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Billed weight115 lb (52 kg)
DebutOctober 12, 2009

Maria Menounos (/məˈnuːnoʊs/; born June 8, 1978)[2] is an American actress, journalist, television host and occasional professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE where she has served as an ambassador since 2013. She has made television appearances in the U.S. as a TV correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. She also co-created and is currently CEO of online podcast series network AfterBuzzTV.

Early life

Menounos was born in Medford, Massachusetts,[2] the daughter of Greek parents Costas and Litsa Menounos, who worked as janitors in a Boston nightclub.[3] She has a younger brother named Peter.[3] Menounos attended the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville, Massachusetts. She also attended Medford High School in Medford.

In 1995, Menounos began to compete in beauty pageants. The following year, she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, and she competed at Miss Teen USA where she placed in the top 15, receiving an honorary mention, during the preliminary competition. Menounos placed 13th in preliminaries. She competed for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA 2000, and was the first runner-up.

Menounos attended Boston's Emerson College, where she participated in the organization Emerson Independent Video. She graduated from Emerson in 2000.[1]

Film, television, and radio career

During her senior year at Emerson, Menounos worked as a reporter for Channel One News. For her 10-minute segments, she traveled to El Salvador to report on the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes, interviewed NATO aircrew members aboard an E-3 AWACS plane during the military alliance's Operation Eagle Assist, and interviewed President George W. Bush.[citation needed]

Entertainment Tonight hired Menounos as a correspondent in 2002, where she reported on movies, music, and fashion.[citation needed] She left the program in 2005 to focus on her acting career, though she would join rival program Access Hollywood that fall as a correspondent.[4] She went on to co-host a few episodes of the Today show in the late summer and fall of 2006 as well as in April 2007. In 2003, Menounos appeared on the November 30 episode of Punk'd where she was one of many celebrities caught in the awkward and embarrassing "Red Carpet Interviews".

Menounos signing autographs in 2005

In 2004, Menounos appeared in an episode of the UPN series One on One as Glenda, an eccentric, self-proclaimed "Fairy Godmother to the Stars". In the summer of 2005, she appeared in the comic book film Fantastic Four, where she played a nurse who is romanced by the Human Torch, played by Chris Evans. Her likeness and voice was featured in the 2005 Electronic Arts video game James Bond 007: From Russia with Love as Eva Adara, Red Grant's henchwoman, which stars Sean Connery as James Bond. She is also the spokesperson for Pantene hair products. Menounos presented the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (along with Greek singer Sakis Rouvas) which took place in Athens.[5] Menounos also directed Longtime Listener starring Wilmer Valderrama. The film was an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival 2006. Menounos acted in and produced Adventures of Serial Buddies, which is credited with being the first serial killer buddy comedy.[6]

At the age of 17, Menounos produced In the Land of Merry Misfits, an independent film fairy tale. The 35 mm feature film was produced by Menounos while attending Emerson College with director Keven Undergaro, then head writer for MTV's Singled Out. The negative of the film was stolen and the film was never completed but her work on the film, and the film's director, helped her land her reporting job at Channel One News and at MTV (ET on MTV). Menounos, however, never forgot the film or the film's director. In 2005, Menounos personally funded the recovery and restoration of the film, which was narrated by John Waters and starred an eclectic group in the Waters vein — including former WWE champion Bob Backlund, actress Josie Davis from the TV show Charles in Charge and B-movie icon Randal Malone. The film premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

Menounos also maintains AfterBuzzTV, an online entertainment network she founded with Undergaro,[7] for which she was named the 2014 CES Entertainment Matters Ambassador.[8]

As an actress, Menounos had recurring roles on the CBS-TV program Without a Trace and as Jules in the second season of The CW's One Tree Hill (during its run on The WB). Menounos also appeared on the Scrubs episode "My Extra Mile", which aired in May 2006 where she is attracted to John Dorian because she likes his hair. In 2006, Menounos appeared in the music video for "A Public Affair" by Jessica Simpson. On April 27, 2007, Menounos starred in Kickin' It Old Skool. In 2007, Menounos continued in her run as international spokesperson doing print and television commercials for Pantene hair products as well as print ads for New York & Company. From December 17 to 20, 2007, Menounos hosted the reality game show miniseries Clash of the Choirs.

Menounos in February 2009

In 2008, she became the host of Hollywood Green on the Planet Green network. In 2008, she had a role in the movie Tropic Thunder, and in the same year became the first (and to date the only) journalist to interview the entire Obama family as a whole. She also reported for NBC Nightly News.

In May 2008, she played in the AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, but was eliminated in the qualifying round. On July 13, 2008, Menounos starred in the celebrity softball game at Yankee Stadium in New York. In November 2008, when Richard Belzer fell ill, she filled in as host for the North Shore Animal League's Dogcatemy Celebrity Gala, which takes place at NYC's Capitale.[9] From 2009 to 2012, she hosted various reunion specials of MTV's The Real World and The Challenge. Menounos appeared on the 2008 Knight Rider series episode "Fly By Knight", which aired on February 11, 2009 where she played a DEA agent who is in charge of investigating a plane crash.

On August 4, 2011, it was announced that she would join Warner Bros.'s Extra, where she co-hosted the show with Mario Lopez. She also had on-air duties at Dr. Drew's Lifechangers, with plans to develop new projects.[10] For her work on Extra, Menounos won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment News Program.

She was a contestant on the 14th season of Dancing with the Stars partnering with Derek Hough.[11] The couple was eliminated on May 15, 2012, ending up in fourth place. In May 2013, Menounos launched a new interview series called Conversations with Maria Menounos,[12] with Zoe Saldana being her first guest.

On March 18, 2014, Menounos' reality TV series Chasing Maria Menounos premiered on the Oxygen Network.[13]

In May 2014, after three years of hosting Extra, Menounos left the show and signed a multi-year contract with E! Entertainment to host and produce several programs. In July 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Menounos would replace Giuliana Rancic as the co-anchor of E! News.[14] In July 2017, Menounos stepped down, due to an ongoing battle with a brain tumor.[15][16][17]

In late 2015, it was announced that she would host a daily, one-hour radio show on SiriusXM called Conversations with Maria on Stars 109.[18]

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2009–present)

Menounos is a long-time WWE fan and has made several appearances with the promotion. Menounos' first appearance came on October 12, 2009, when Menounos joined Nancy O'Dell in guest hosting WWE Raw. She made her in-ring debut that night in a six diva tag team match with Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly against Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, and Rosa Mendes; Menounos' team was victorious, with the match highlighted by Menounos slapping the much larger-statured Phoenix.[19]

On December 11, 2011, at WWE Tribute to the Troops, Menounos returned and teamed with Alicia Fox, Eve Torres, and Kelly Kelly to defeat the team of The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki) and The Divas of Doom (Phoenix and Natalya) where Menounos got the win for her team by pinning Phoenix.[20]

Menounos (front) celebrating her victory at WrestleMania XXVIII along with tag-team partner Kelly Kelly in April 2012

Menounos continued her feud with WWE Divas Champion Phoenix after Phoenix and Eve Torres interrupted an interview segment with Kelly Kelly on Extra. This led to tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII with Menounos teaming with Kelly Kelly to take on Phoenix and Torres.[21] Despite legitimately suffering two cracked ribs during practice for Dancing with the Stars before the match,[22] Menounos and Kelly were successful in defeating Phoenix and Torres on April 1, 2012, at WrestleMania, with Menounos pinning Phoenix for the win.[23]

On April 6, 2013, at Madison Square Garden, Menounos inducted Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame.[24] On August 18, 2013 at SummerSlam Axxess, she teamed up with Natalya to defeat Brie Bella and Eva Marie.[25][26]

On August 17, 2014, Menounos was seen at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, appearing in the crowd and later in a backstage segment with Stephanie McMahon, who accepted Menounos's challenge for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Menounos was actually nominated in the first place by McMahon's father and chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon.

She has hosted the WWE Hall of Fame red carpet pre-show for four years in a row (2014-2017). She also appeared during the event as a guest backstage interviewer for WrestleMania 31, WrestleMania 32 and WrestleMania 33. In 2016, Menounos appeared in one episode of the WWE Network's Swerved and was a backstage interviewer for SummerSlam.

In wrestling

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Fantastic Four Sexy Nurse
2006 Fwiends.com Gladys Short film
2007 Kickin' It Old Skool Jennifer Major role
2007 In the Land of Merry Misfits Risandra Voice role
2008 Tropic Thunder Herself Cameo appearance
2011 Adventures of Serial Buddies Katelyn
2013 Paranormal Movie Dr. Luni
2015 Entourage Herself

Television

See also: List of Eurovision Song Contest presenters
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Channel One News Herself Host
2002–2005 Entertainment Tonight Herself Correspondent
2002 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Reporter #1 Episode: "Free Sabrina"
2003 Without a Trace Chris Sanders Episode: "Trip Box"
2003 Punk'd Herself 1 episode
2004 One on One Glenda Episode: "We'll Take Manhattan"
2004–2005 One Tree Hill Emily "Jules" Chambers 10 episodes
2005–2011 Access Hollywood Herself Correspondent
2006 Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Herself Co-host
2006 Scrubs Tamara Episode: "My Extra Mile"
2006 Entourage Herself Episode: "Aquamom"; cameo appearance
2007 Clash of the Choirs Herself Host
2009 Knight Rider DEA Agent Jessie Renning Episode: "Fly by Knight"
2009–2011 The Challenge Herself Host of Reunion episodes
2009–2012 The Real World
2009 WWE Raw Co-Host/Herself TV special
2010 Entourage Herself Episode: "Buzzed"; cameo appearance
2011–2014 Extra Herself Host
2011 Funny or Die Presents Talk Show Host "Paco Dances" segment
2012 Sesame Street Herself Episode: "The All of Our Senses Club"; cameo appearance
2012 Dancing with the Stars Herself Season 14 contestant
2012 WrestleMania XXVIII Herself Performed With Kelly Kelly Defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve
2012 Louie Entertainment News Anchor Episode: "Late Show: Part 2 & 3"
2012–2013 The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange Herself Guest appearance
2013 WWE Hall of Fame Herself – Inductor Inducted Bob Backlund
2013 Hell's Kitchen Herself Episode: "7 Chefs Compete Part 2"; Chef's table guest in the blue kitchen
2013 The Mindy Project Herself 2 episodes
2013 The Eric Andre Show Herself Guest appearance
2013–2014 Nashville Herself 2 episodes
2013–present Live from E! Herself Co-host
2014 Chasing Maria Menounos Herself Lead role
2014–2015 Bar Rescue Herself 3 episodes
2014 WWE Hall of Fame Herself Co-Host of the Red Carpet Pre-Show on the WWE Network
2014 Ridiculousness Herself Guest
2014 Untold Herself Host
2014 Botched Herself Host of the two-part reunion episode
2015 The Celebrity Apprentice 7 Herself Guest donor for Team Infinity on Episode 1
2015 WrestleMania 31 Herself Guest backstage interviewer
2015 Total Divas Herself 1 episode
2015–2017 E! News Herself Anchor
2016 Cupcake Wars Herself Celebrity Baker
2016 Swerved Herself Guest Appearance
2016 Have You Been Paying Attention? Herself Guest Quiz Master
2017 Total Bellas Herself Episode: "Bella-Mania"

Accolades

Menounos appeared in FHM magazine and in People magazine in 2004 as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People".[30]

She has also beaten Jessica Alba and Charlize Theron for "Cyber Vixen of the Year" on Spike TV's video game awards.[31] On August 8, 2010 she won the Madden NFL Pro-AM MVP award.[32]

In 2014, she won a Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Entertainment News Program for her work on Extra.[33]

Charity work

Menounos founded the charity "Take Action Hollywood!" after her trip to South Africa, where she reported on the effects of the AIDS crisis there.[34] She also created the Cosmo Girl Cup, a national, annual competition and award given to the group of teens who do the most in their communities to affect for positive social change.[35] Menounos presented at the Earth Day Network's Climate Rally in Washington, DC on April 25, 2010.[36]

Personal life

Menounos has been in a relationship with director and producer Keven Undergaro since April 1998.[37] On March 9, 2016, Undergaro proposed to her live on The Howard Stern Show, and Menounos accepted.[38] In addition, they own the online entertainment network AfterBuzz TV where she is an executive producer.[7][39] In June 2017, she underwent surgery for a brain tumor.[40]

References

  1. ^ a b Loftus, Jamie (April 19, 2011). "Up close with TV's Menounos '00". Emerson College. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "Maria Menounos: Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Coulton, Antoinette Y. (November 12, 2008). "Maria Menounos's Greek Christmas". People. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Maria Menounos joins 'Access Hollywood' and 'Today'". USA Today. August 23, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  5. ^ "In pictures: Eurovision 2006". BBC News. May 21, 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  6. ^ "Long Time Listener". MariaMenounous.com. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Graser, Marc. "'Extra' Host Maria Menounos' YouTube Channel Gives TV Fans an Online Forum". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  8. ^ Stedman, Alex. "VARIETY October 2013". Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  9. ^ "View Co-Hosts Dish to OK! About Sherri - OK! Magazine - The First for Celebrity News". OK! Magazine. September 6, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  10. ^ "Menounos to Co-Host 'Extra' - 2011-08-04 16:31:47 | Broadcasting & Cable". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  11. ^ "New Dancing with the Stars cast revealed". abcnewsgo.com. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  12. ^ "Menounos Launches New Interview Series". Conversations with Maria. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  13. ^ "Menounos Launches New Reality Series". Chasing Maria. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  14. ^ Massabrook, Nicole (July 30, 2015). "Maria Menounos To Replace Giuliana Rancic On 'E! News' Despite Viewer Criticism During SAG Awards". International Business Times. Retrieved July 31, 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Littelton, Cynthia (July 3, 2017). "Maria Menounos Battles Brain Tumor, Steps Down From E! News". Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  16. ^ Szalai, Georg (July 3, 2017). "Maria Menounos Steps Down as Co-Anchor of 'E! News' Amid Battle With Brain Tumor". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  17. ^ Johnson, Zach (July 3, 2017). "Maria Menounos Diagnosed With a Brain Tumor as Her Mom Is Fighting Stage 4 Brain Cancer". E! News. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  18. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (October 19, 2015). "Maria Menounos to Host Daily Pop Culture & Lifestyle Show for SiriusXM". Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  19. ^ a b James, Caldwell (October 12, 2009). "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 10/12: Complete coverage of Nancy O'Dell and Maria Menounos hosting Raw". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  20. ^ a b James, Caldwell (December 13, 2011). "CALDWELL'S WWE TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS REPORT 12/13: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of USA Network special". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  21. ^ Wortman, James (March 16, 2012). "Beth: "I will Glam Slam you into tomorrow!"". WWE. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  22. ^ Watkins, Jade (April 1, 2012). "She's a tough cookie! Maria Menounos gets into the WWE ring to wrestle not one but TWO women despite having broken ribs". Dailymail. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  23. ^ Artus, Matthew (April 2, 2012). "Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos def. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix & Eve". WWE. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  24. ^ "Maria Menounos to induct Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame". Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  25. ^ WWE.COM, STAFF (August 14, 2013). "Eva Marie joins Brie Bella to face Natalya & Maria Menounos at SummerSlam Axxess". WWE.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  26. ^ "SUMMERSLAM PPV RESULTS: Quick rundown of match results". PRO WRESTLING TORCH (pwtorch.com). August 18, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  27. ^ Diva-dirt. "WrestleMania 28: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos Victorious". Diva-dirt.com. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  28. ^ "Girlfriend Pop 2 - Various Artists". iTunes. April 25, 2016.
  29. ^ "WWE: Holla (Kelly Kelly) [feat. Desiree Jackson] - Single". iTunes. April 29, 2016.
  30. ^ Staff, People (May 10, 2004). "Most Beautiful People 2004". People. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  31. ^ "EVERY VGA WINNER FROM YEARS PAST". Spike TV. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  32. ^ Coman, Nick (August 9, 2010). "Maria Menounos Named MVP of Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am". nesn.com. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  33. ^ Weinstein, Shelli; Litteton, Cynthia (June 22, 2014). "Daytime Emmy Awards: 'Young and the Restless,' 'Ellen DeGeneres,' Steve Harvey Among Top Winners at Raucous Ceremony (FULL LIST)". Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  34. ^ Raynor, Roxanne (March 6, 2013). "Maria Menounos: Take Action Hollywood". macares.org. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  35. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (October 13, 2005). "Maria Menounous Is Hollywood's It Girl". TV Guide. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  36. ^ "Actress Maria Menounos at the Climate Rally Earth Day Concert in Washington". UPI.com. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  37. ^ Cosgrove Baylis, Sheila (March 24, 2014). "Maria Menounos Is Leaving Extra". People.
  38. ^ "Maria Menounos Engaged". Us Weekly. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  39. ^ "Cassandra Lee Morris Interview (Sword Art Online, Bravely Default)". AfterBuzz TV's. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2016 – via YouTube.
  40. ^ Respers France, Lisa (July 4, 2017). "Maria Menounos recovering from brain tumor surgery". CNN.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maria Menounos.
Preceded by Miss Massachusetts Teen USA
1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest presenter
(with Sakis Rouvas)
2006 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Menounos&oldid=818041840"