Maria Menounos (Μαρία Μενούνος in Greek; born June 8, 1978) is an American actress, journalist, and television presenter known at home for her appearances as a correspondent for The Today Show and Access Hollywood, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.

Menounos, a Greek American, was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and is fluent in the Greek language. Menounos attended the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Danielson, CT. 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 failed to place in the top 10. Menounos did however place Read more...

Later Menounos attended Boston's Emerson College where she participated in the NOW award winning organization, Emerson Independent Video. During her senior year, she was hired as a reporter for Channel One News. Her work for Channel One's 10-minute segments included traveling to El Salvador to report on the earthquake of 2001 and interviewing President George W. Bush.

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