Name:Maria Menounos

Hometown:Medford, MA

Birthday:June 8, 1978

Massachusetts native Maria Menounos is best known for her work as a cohost on the entertainment news program Extra, as well as Today, Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood. As a teen, Menounos competed in beauty pageants, including Miss Teen USA, where she placed in the top 15 contestants. A graduate of Boston’s prestigious Emerson College, Menounos was hired first as a reporter for Channel One News, which also counts Anderson Cooper and Lisa Ling as former employees.

Also an actress, the diehard Boston sports fan had a recurring role on One Tree Hill as Jules, and also appeared on Without a Trace, Scrubs and Entourage, among other projects. Menounos teamed with Derek Hough on season 14 of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, placing 4th in 2012.

Menounos dated writer/director Keven Undergaro for more than 15 years before they tied the knot in December 2017. The couple welcomed their first baby, daughter Athena, in June 2023 via surrogate.

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