Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos (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.

Early life and beauty pageants

Menounos was born in Medford, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrant parents Costas and Litsa Menounos. She has one younger brother, Peter. She is fluent in the Greek language. From the age of 13 through 19, she was an employee of Dunkin' Donuts. Menounos attended the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville, Massachusetts. Menounos attended Medford High School in Medford, Massachusetts.

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.