Maria Menounos [Journalist/ Activist]

By: Editor | December 15, 2011 | Lifestyle

A new addition to the nightly entertainment show Extra, co-host Maria Menounos can easily spout off all the A-list celebs and their most recent scandals, but as it turns out, that’s the least of it. Menounos, who graduated from Boston’s Emerson College with a degree in journalism, quickly established herself as a heavy-hitter in her field by being the youngest person to ever report for the NBC Nightly News. Since then, Menounos has been a regular reporter for the likes of Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show and Access Hollywood, as well as making appearances in feature films and television programs like Tropic Thunder and Scrubs. She’s also made serious waves in her industry for being the first and only reporter to sit down with the entire Obama family during the 2008 campaign — the same year her book The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life was published. The multitalented Menounos is also known for her gorgeous looks, which have earned her spots on Maxim’s “Hot 100” list countless times and even garnered a place on People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful” people list in 2004. And by the looks of things, she’s not slowing down anytime soon: She currently holds job of executive director of the charitable organization Take Action Hollywood! and is the ambassador for the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s diabetes awareness campaign.

Describe your personality in 10 words or less.
I am hard-working and passionate. I love people and having fun.

If you were reincarnated, who or what would you like to come back as?
I’d come back as Judy Garland, so I could have all that talent and do my best to not allow it to be wasted so young.

Name your favorite …
Contemporary musician: John Legend
Comfort food: cookie dough ice cream
Wild animal: elephant
Instrument: piano
Founding Father: John Adams (or at least what I learned about him from Paul Giamatti’s portrayal of him in the HBO miniseries)

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishment?
Being the first to interview the Obama family.

What are you pissed about right now?
The economy and how we all let it come to this.

What tunes would be on the five-song playlist to your life?
“Somewhere over the rainbow”
“California Love”
“I Will Survive”
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
“Welcome to Jungle”

What is your greatest fear?
Losing the ones I love.

Who is the most interesting person you have ever met (and why)?
Richard Branson. He’s a genius, and in my line of work, I meet a lot of them. However, where many fall short in other areas, Branson is genuine, decent and just plain fun.

Name three things you cannot live without.
My parents, my partner and my dogs.

You get one wish…
I’d eliminate poverty.

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