Maria Menounos is an American actress, television host and professional wrestler. She’s known for television programs like Access Hollywood, Extra and E! News. Her film credits include Fantastic Four (2005), Kickin’ It Old Skool (2007) and Entourage (2015). Menounos was born on June 8, 1978 in Medford, Massachusetts. Her parents Litsa and Costas Menounos are Greek. She has a younger brother named Peter. Menounos speaks English, Greek and Spanish. She attended Medford High School followed by Emerson College.

Prior to television, Menounos was a beauty pageant contestant. She was crowned ‘Miss Massachusetts Teen USA’ in 1996. She finished in the top-15 of the 1996 Miss Teen USA pageantry and was the first runner-up for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA 2000. Menounos began her career as a journalist with Channel One News in 2000. During her tenure she traveled to El Salvador to report on earthquakes. She also interviewed President George W. Bush. Menounos served as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight from 2002 to 2005. She held a recurring role as Emily “Jules” Chambers on the drama series, One Tree Hill (2004-05). Other early television appearances include Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Without a Trace, and Punk’d.

Menounos joined the entertainment news show ‘Access Hollywood’ in 2005. There she served as a special correspondent until 2011. She co-hosted the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, Greece. Menounos made her feature film debut in the superhero flick, Fantastic Four (2005). She starred as “Jennifer” opposite Jamie Kennedy in the comedy, Kickin’ It Old Skool (2007). Her film credits also include Tropic Thunder (2008) with Ben Stiller. Adventures of Serial Buddies (2011) with Henry Winkler, and Entourage (2015) with Kevin Connolly. Menounos hosted ‘Extra’ from 2011 to 2014. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for her contribution to the show in 2014. Menounos was a contestant on season 14 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2012. Her television credits also include The Mindy Project, Bar Rescue, and Nashville. She anchored ‘E! News’ from 2015 to 2017.

Menounos made her professional wrestling debut in October 2009. Some of her popular moves include the “stink face” and the “leg trap sunset flip powerbomb”. Her manager is television host Nancy O'Dell. Menounos competed at the 2011 WWE Tribute to the Troops event. She teamed up with Kelly Kelly at WrestleMania XXVIII to defeat Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres. Menounos has hosted the WWE Hall of Fame red carpet pre-show on several occasions. In April 2013, she inducted Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Maria Menounos is about 5ft 7in tall and she’s of Greek descent. Her net worth is estimated at $7 million. She was dubbed one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People magazine in 2004. She’s also the founder of the charity “Take Action Hollywood”, a nonprofit to raise social awareness. Menounos began a relationship with AfterBuzz TV CEO ‘Keven Undergaro’ in 1998. The couple got engaged on March 9, 2016 live on The Howard Stern Show. Menounos underwent surgery for brain tumor in 2017.