Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos is an American and Greek television host, journalist, and actor born on June 8, 1978. She is widely recognized for her hosting roles on major news and entertainment programs, including Extra and E! News, as well as her work as a correspondent for Today and Access Hollywood. In addition to her broadcasting career, she is the co-creator and CEO of the online podcast series network AfterBuzz TV and has served as an ambassador for WWE.

Menounos was raised in Medford, Massachusetts, by Greek immigrant parents, Konstantinos and Stavroula Menounos. During her youth, she worked as a janitor alongside her parents at a nightclub. She graduated from Medford High School in 1996 and began competing in beauty pageants, earning the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA in 1996 and placing as first runner-up for Miss Massachusetts USA 2000. She attended Emerson College, participating in Emerson Independent Video, and graduated in 2000.

During her senior year at Emerson, Menounos worked as a reporter for Channel One News, covering events such as the 2001 earthquakes in El Salvador and interviewing President George W. Bush. In 2002, she joined Entertainment Tonight as a correspondent covering movies, music, and fashion. She moved to Access Hollywood in 2005 and later co-hosted segments on the Today show. Over the following years, she hosted various programs, including the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, the reality game show Clash of the Choirs in 2007, and Hollywood Green in 2008.

Menounos joined Warner Bros.'s Extra as a co-host alongside Mario Lopez in 2011, earning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. During this period, she competed on season 14 of Dancing with the Stars, placing fourth. In 2014, her reality series Chasing Maria Menounos premiered on the Oxygen Network. She subsequently signed with E! Entertainment, becoming co-anchor of E! News in 2015 before stepping down in 2017. Menounos has hosted the movie theater pre-show program Noovie since 2017 and co-hosted the Miss Universe 2023 pageant.

As an actress and filmmaker, Menounos appeared in films such as Fantastic Four and Kickin' It Old Skool, as well as television series like One Tree Hill, Without a Trace, and Scrubs. She directed the short film Longtime Listener, produced In the Land of Merry Misfits, and produced and acted in Adventures of Serial Buddies. Beyond television, she voiced a character in the 2005 video game James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, published books under The Everygirl's Guide series, and created podcasts including Heal Squad.

A longtime fan of professional wrestling, Menounos has maintained an active association with WWE since 2009. She made her in-ring debut in a tag team match on WWE Raw and went on to compete at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012. She became an official WWE ambassador in 2013, hosted its Hall of Fame red-carpet pre-shows for six consecutive years, and served as a special guest ring announcer for the first women's Royal Rumble match in 2018. Additionally, Menounos founded the charity organization Take Action Hollywood! and created the Cosmo Girl Cup to encourage youth community involvement.