As a journalist, Emmy Award-winner Maria Menounos holds the distinct honor of having conducted the only interview with the entire Obama family: an interview touted by ABC News as the top defining moments leading to Obama’s victory. Maria’s achievements have thus far set numerous industry milestones. Her groundbreaking conversational style of reporting led her, at the age of 22, to become the youngest person ever to host Entertainment Tonight. She would go on to do the same for TODAY Show and Nightly News. Maria is the first person in the history of Hollywood to report for network news AND star in a wide-release feature film. Maria is also a part time WWE professional wrestler and personality, with a record of 4-0.
Maria competed on Dancing with the Stars, advancing to the semi finals with broken ribs and feet, topping the finalists in scoring. While competing on DTWS, despite her injuries, Maria wrestled at Wrestlemania. Her historic match helped usher in the current female empowerment movement within WWE. As a proud part-time WWE pro wrestler, Maria has a close relationship to WWE VP, Stephanie McMahon, hosting the annual Hall of Fame ceremonies for the company.
Maria is also the two-time New York Times Best Selling author of The EveryGirl's Guide To… book series. She was also the longest running international spokesperson and face of Pantene hair care products.
As an actress on the big screen, she has appeared in Tropic Thunder, Kickin it Old Skool', and The Fantastic Four. Small-screen acting endeavors include guest roles on CBS’ Without a Trace, NBC’s Scrubs, and HBO’s Entourage, as well as a recurring role on the CW’s One Tree Hill.
Currently, Maria hosts SiriusXM Stars popular daily morning show, Conversations with Maria, and is the Host and Producer of NCM's First Look, the cinema pre show seen daily on 70% of America's movie screens, making Maria the most viewed face in all of movies! She recently co-hosted Fox New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey, where her live wedding to partner Keven Undergaro delivered Fox its best ratings in its 25 year history.
Maria also created the ABC special, Dance Battle America, with Julianne Hough. Her production company has several other projects in production. Along with partner, Keven Undergaro, she launched Maria's Greek Kitchen, a food stand at Boston's historic Fenway Park.
In the digital space, Maria, along with partner, Keven Undergaro, co-founded AfterBuzz TV, one of the largest digital broadcast networks worldwide, producing over 400 TV ‘after-shows’ for favorite TV shows and 100-200 hours of original programming per week. The AfterBuzz TV Network is comprised of over 200 hosts, features daily celebrity guests, and is seen and heard in over 150 countries. In addition, along with Undergaro, she co-founded the Popcorn Talk Network, one of the leading digital broadcast platforms for movie and pop culture discussion. Per Maria, the collective networks carry a mission to aid, mentor, and nurture the careers of aspiring hosts and journalists. To that point, AfterBuzz has helped launch the careers of former AfterBuzz TV hosts, Beth Behrs (Two Broke Girls), Eboni K. Williams (Fox News), Kat Bailess (Hit the Floor), Jackie Miranne (VH-1, HSN), Stephanie Bauer (Access Hollywood), Suri Serano (ESPN), Deidre Behar (Entertainment Tonight), AJ Gibson (Hollywood Today), Derrial Christon (BET), Chloe West (Moviefone), Cathy Kelley (WWE), Christy St. Cloud (WWE), Daria Berenato aka Sonia Deville (WWE), Roxy Striar (Screen Junkies), Alex Wehrley (E! News), and Jessica Carrol (The Bachelor),to name a few.
Maria's mom was diagnosed a year ago with stage 4 brain cancer and, ironically, Maria herself was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumor. Both mother and daughter had them removed surgically. Maria's was the size of a golf ball. The experience has led to Maria being heavily immersed in helping others with cancer, brain tumors, and other health crises.
Along with being a champion of talent and helping women and human beings in general, Maria is particularly passionate about animals and is avid in pet rescue. A girl who did not speak English until the first grade and one who worked as a janitor cleaning Boston nightclubs throughout her adolescence, Maria is proof that you can come from humble beginnings and succeed. Most importantly, she is proof that you can remain true to yourself and humble and still care deeply for others.