TAKE ACTION HOLLYWOOD! STAFF

Maria Menounos
Maria Menounos is a correspondent for NBC's Access Hollywood, the Today Show, as well as an actress and filmaker.
Executive Director, Take Action Hollywood!

Intelligent, articulate, engaging, and absolutely gorgeous, Maria Menounos is one of Hollywood’s hottest up and coming talents, if not the most diverse and unique as her success as an actress, journalist, entertainment reporter, filmmaker, singer and humanitarian would indicate.

Maria is currently a special correspondent for both the “Today Show” and “Access Hollywood” in part of an overall deal with NBC Universal. As an actress, she stars in the lead role opposite Jaime Kennedy in the comedy feature film, “Kickin’ It Old Skool.” She has had numerous guest roles on TV shows including NBC’s “Scrubs”, HBO’s “Entourage” and “Without a Trace.” She also has a recurring role in the WB drama “One Tree Hill” and played the love interest to Chris Evans aka the Human Torch in the 20th Century FOX SciFi/Action movie blockbuster “Fantastic Four.”  At 22 she became the youngest person to ever host “Entertainment Tonight.”  She also hosted and launched, “ET on MTV” and “ET on VH-1,” two shows that soared to number-one weekend ratings on their respective networks. Maria’s relaxed, conversational and non-traditional style of hosting and reporting had never been seen before. It is now commonplace to see Maria’s style at work not only at Entertainment Tonight but also throughout the entire industry.

Maria is featured in an international television and print campaign as the spokesperson for PANTENE hair care products.  She beat Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba for the “Cyber Vixen of the Year Award” at the Spike Video Game Awards for her role in “James Bond 007: From Russia With Love” which she starred in opposite Sir Sean Connery.  When Connery was bestowed the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award speakers at the event who were selected to honor him were Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Mike Myers and Maria Menounos. Maria landed in the top five of the askmen.com poll for “the girl men most want to marry” along with the like of Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron.

As a filmmaker, Maria’s films include “Longtime Listener,” starring Wilmer Valderamma and “Fwiends.com” starring Lara Flynn Boyle.  “Longtime Listener” was selected by the Tribecca Film Festival and the South by South West Film Festival.  “Fwiends.com” was ranked as the number one viewed comedy on “ifilms.com” for five weeks. She serves as both Producer and Executive Producer of the 35mm feature length movie, “In the Land of Merry Misfits.”  The film was shot back in 1997 when prodigy Maria, then a college sophomore, was hired as a Production Assistant. When production wrapped the negative for the film was stolen and held hostage. The project was recovered later and then shelved, tragically. With her own success, Maria never forgot the film or the film’s director. Nearly ten years later she is financing its’ completion.

As a journalist, Maria has traveled the globe covering tragedies and interviewing world leaders, including President George W. Bush, one on one. It was her coverage of the devastating AIDS epidemic in South Africa that inspired her to create TAH!

A former Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, Maria attended Boston’s Emerson College, where she double-majored in broadcast journalism and film.  In 1996, Maria became the first freshman in Emerson’s history to win the prestigious Evvy Award for Best Newscaster.  She hosted a Greek-American radio talk show on Boston’s WNRB and was an International correspondent/anchor for Channel One News, a news magazine show that boasts a daily audience of eight-million teenagers.

In what little free time she has, Maria continues to volunteer at various dog shelters in the Los Angeles area, where she resides with her four adopted dogs.