Born to a working-class family, this former Miss Massachusetts Teen USA set her sights on journalism while studying at Emerson College. After working on news segments for the school's radio station, this versatile beauty joined Channel One News, which broadcasts to schools across the U.S.
Entertainment Tonight snatched up the correspondent in 2002 and eventually made her the host of its programs on MTV and VH1. In 2004 Menounos went from interviewing actors to becoming one herself with a recurring role on
One Tree Hill. The next year she left
ET to join the competition,
Access Hollywood. Off screen she's been unofficially linked with Vin Diesel and participates in humanitarian causes.
Maria Menounos Fast Facts:- Speaks Greek fluently.
- Avid sports fan (especially any Boston team) and has her own tennis and basketball courts.
- While at Emerson wrote, produced and broadcast news segments for WERS-FM, one of the largest college radio stations in the country.
- As a Channel One correspondent, Menounos interviewed President George W. Bush, numerous celebrities, and traveled the world to cover such tragedies as the 2001 earthquake in El Salvador and the AIDS epidemic in South Africa.
- Co-founder of Take Action Hollywood!, an organization that raises social awareness and enlists the help of the entertainment industry.
- Attended the 2004 Oscars wearing a diamond-studded Randi Rahm dress worth more than $2 million.
- Maria Menounos Relationships:
- Constantinos Menounos - Father
- Stavroula Menounos - Mother
- College:
- Emerson College, Boston, MA
