Maria Menounos
Maria Menounos (/məˈnuːnoʊs/ mə-NOO-nohss; Greek: Μαρία Μενούνος [maˈri.a meˈnunos]; born June 8, 1978)[1] is an American television presenter. She has hosted Extra and E! News; she was a TV correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, and co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. She also co-created and is currently CEO of online podcast series network AfterBuzz TV. She is currently signed to WWE where she has served as an ambassador since 2013, having even competed in some tag team events as a pro since 2009. She hosted the podcast Conversations with Maria Menounos. She also co-hosted Miss Universe 2023 pageant on November 18, 2023.
Maria Menounos
June 8, 1978
- United States
- Greece
- Television presenter
- journalist
- actress
- podcaster
1996–present
1
Early life[edit]
Menounos was born in the Boston suburb of Medford, Massachusetts, United States[1] to Greek immigrants Costas and Litsa Menounos, who worked as janitors in a Boston nightclub. She has a younger brother.[2] She graduated from Medford High School in 1996.[3]
In 1995, Menounos began to compete in beauty pageants. The following year, she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA and competed at Miss Teen USA, where she placed in the top 15, receiving an honorary mention, during the preliminary competition. She placed 13th in the preliminaries. She competed for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA 2000 and was the first runner-up.
Menounos attended Emerson College, participating there in the organization Emerson Independent Video. She graduated from Emerson in 2000.[4]
Charity work[edit]
In a 2008 NBC interview, Menounos shared she has been involved in charity work since age 13 and has always wanted to be able to help many causes in the charity world.[31]
Menounos founded the charity "Take Action Hollywood!" after her trip to South Africa, where she reported on the effects of the AIDS crisis there.[32] She 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.[33] Menounos presented at the Earth Day Network's Climate Rally in Washington, DC on April 25, 2010.[34] in 2012 Menounos took part in Red Cross's and AMC joint effort to raise awareness for donating blood.[35]
Personal life[edit]
In 2012, Menounos posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine.[36] In the same year, Menounos told Howard Stern that she had previously been sexually abused by two doctors during medical examinations.[37]
In April 2017, she had surgery to remove a meningioma, an intracranial tumor which was benign.[38][39] In January 2023, she was diagnosed with stage II pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery. The cancer was found on a whole body MRI screening, after being missed earlier on a hospital-ordered CT test.[40][41]
Menounos married Keven Undergaro in Times Square during the 2017 New Year's festivities in a ceremony officiated by Steve Harvey[42] and then again in a 2018 Greek Orthodox wedding in her father's village of Akovos, Greece.[43] On February 7, 2023, Menounos and her husband announced they were having a baby with the aid of a surrogate.[44]
Menounos announced her dual citizenship between the United States and Greece on May 19, 2023.[45]