Maria Menounos

Maria Constaninos Menounos (/mɛnuːˈnɔːs/; born June 8, 1978) is an American actress, journalist, television host, and occasional professional wrestler of Greek descent. She is known in the United States for her appearances as a TV correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.

Menounos was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek parents Costas and Litsa Menounos, who worked as janitors in a Boston nightclub. She has a younger brother named Peter. Menounos attended the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville, Massachusetts. She also attended Medford High School in Medford.

In 1995, Menounos began to compete in beauty pageants. The following year, she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, and she competed at Miss Teen USA where she placed in the top 15, receiving an honorary mention, during the preliminary competition. Menounos placed 13th in preliminaries. Maria competed for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA 2000. She was the first runner-up.

Menounos attended Boston's Emerson College, where she participated in the organization Emerson Independent Video. She graduated from Emerson in 2000.