Maria Menounos recently announced that she is stepping down from her hosting duties on E! But that isn’t the most shocking part. The Hollywood insider has been battling a brain tumor, and is now recovering from surgery.
Hollywood insider, Maria Menounos shocked the world with her announcement that she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She has resigned as a host from E! and is on the mend after surgery. But she’s a fighter, and she has some big plans in her personal life involving her fiancé. Here’s what you need to know about her condition and more in our Maria Menounos wiki.
She was a Pageant Queen
Maria Menounos was born in Medford, Massachusetts in June 1978, which make her 39 years old now. Her parents, Costas and Litsas, are Greek and worked as janitors in a Boston nightclub. She also has a younger brother named Peter.
In 1995, she began competing in pageants and the next year, she was crowned Miss Massachusetts Teen USA! She went on to compete in Miss Teen USA, where she made it to the Top 15. She competed in the Miss Massachusetts USA pageant in 2000 and was runner-up.
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Breakthrough in Broadcasting
Menounos was studying at Boston’s Emerson College, where she worked as a reporter for Channel One News. During her time there, she reported on the 2001 El Salvador earthquake, interviewed NATO crew members, and even interviewed President George W. Bush.
She reported on movies, music and fashion for Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood. She was also co-host on a few episodes of the Today show. She had a brief acting career with minor roles. Her most notable movie credit was playing a nurse, who was romanced by Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). She also had a recurring role on One Tree Hill.
She partnered with Derek Hough on Dancing with the Stars Season 14 and made it to the top 4. She also had her own reality series, Chasing Maria Menounos. After three years as a host on Extra, she joined E! Entertainment. Following Giuliana Rancic’s controversial departure, Menounos was her replacement. Throughout her entire career, she has earned a net worth of $7.0 million thus far.
She is a Part-time Wrestler
Menounos is not someone you can mess with, mostly because she can actually beat you to a pulp! The longtime WWE fan has made several promotional appearances. She guest-hosted Raw and made her in-ring debut in 2009 with a six-diva tag team. Her team won in 2009 and again during her second run in 2011.
During her wrestling career, she had an on-camera feud with Beth Phoenix. The feud began when Menounos slapped the large-statured Phoenix during her debut tag team match. After an explosive interview, she partnered with Kelly Kelly to take down Phoenix and Eva Torres in Wrestlemania 28, pinning Pheonix down for the win.
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She is Engaged!
The E! host has been in a relationship with director and producer, Keven Undergaro since 1998. Together, they own the online entertainment network, AfterBuzz TV. The couple met under very interesting circumstances.
Undergaro was producing an independent movie, which was stolen, leaving him bankrupt. The silver lining however, was that he met Menounos, who was 19 at the time. He gave up his hard-partying lifestyle and changed for the better, thanks to Menounos. Her father initially disapproved of him because he was a non-Greek, but he eventually came around. After 19 years of dating, Undergaro proposed to Menounos live during an interview with Howard Stern!
She’s a Fighter
We’re not just talking about her WWE victories. Menounos revealed she was diagnosed with a tumor in April and underwent a seven-hour surgery that removed almost all of the tumor. At the time, Menounos was taking care of her mother, who herself is battling brain cancer.
After the surgery on her birthday, she stepped down from her hosting duties on E! to recover completely. But she’s got big plans for the future! The journalist has been vocal about her IVF treatments and is very keen on having a family. More power to you, Maria!
