Maria Menounos

Host, broadcast journalist and occasional actress Maria Menounos gained notoriety with her work as an entertainment news correspondent and her engaging personality on the red carpet. A former Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, she focused on broadcast journalism while enrolled at Emerson College, during which time she began working as a reporter for the educational satellite news program "Channel One News." Upon graduation, Menounos was recruited by "Entertainment Tonight" (syndicated, 1981- ) in 2002, where she remained until moving to "Access Hollywood" (syndicated, 1996- ) in 2005. Occasional forays into acting included a recurring role on "One Tree Hill" (The WB, 2003-05; The CW, 2006-12), as well as appearances in the features "Fantastic Four" (2005) and "Tropic Thunder" (2008). The following year, she became the first reporter to interview the Obama family together on the "Dateline: Presidential Inauguration Special" (NBC, 2009). Menounos' move to E! News in 2014 made her the face of the cable channel, but an operation to remove a benign brain tumor in 2017 led to her resignation while she recuperated. An audience favorite, Menounos proved herself to be far more than just another pretty face through the impressive breadth of her interests and professional efforts.