Menounos is the first person in the entire history of Hollywood to report for network news and star in a wide release feature film. On the big screen, she starred in the romantic comedy Kickin It Old Skool opposite Jamie Kennedy and played herself in the Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder. She also appeared in the 20th Century Fox Sci Fi/Action movie Fantastic Four. On the small screen, her acting endeavors include guest roles on CBS’s Without a Trace, NBC’s Scrubs, HBO’s Entourage, FX’s Louie and FOX’s The Mindy Project as well as a recurring role on the CW’s One Tree Hill. While at Entertainment Tonight, Menounos hosted ET on MTV and ET on VH-1, both of which soared to number-one weekend ratings on their respective networks. At NBC, Maria was a correspondent for Nightly News, the Today Show, Access Hollywood and Dateline. Menounos became the Host of Extra in 2011 and joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 14 where Menounos and partner Derek Hough got the season's first perfect score and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.
Menounos is also a part-time professional wrestler for the WWE. Undefeated in the squared circle, Menounos has wrestled in Summerslam, Raw, Tribute to the Troops and Wrestle Mania XXVIII and inducted friend former two time WWE Champion Bob Backlund into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. Her production company with partner Keven Undegaro titled Underman/Omegagirl Productions produced her reality docuseries Chasing Maria Menounos, which aired it’s first season on Oxygen in March of 2014. Underman/Omegagirl has since entered into a longterm partnership with E, opening offices there. Menounos was also the longest running international spokesperson and face for PANTENE hair care products.
In the literary world, Menounos is a two time NY Times Bestselling Author beginning with her critically acclaimed EveryGirl's Guide to Life. The A-Z guide gives EveryGirl and EveryWoman expert advice on everything: weight loss, fitness, beauty, health, organization, dating, career and more. Her second book in the series, EveryGirl’s Guide to Diet and Fitness released in the summer of 2014 had even greater success. She is also a Contributing Editor for People StyleWatch.
In the digital arena, Menounos, and partner Keven Undergaro, are founders and CEO's of AfterBuzz TV, the largest new media platform on the worldwide web. The AfterBuzz TV Network is an online broadcast network, designated to producing live and recorded “after-show” webcast and podcast content for TV series of all kinds. A veritable “post-game” show for television shows, when TV fans finish watching episodes from select series, they can go to afterbuzztv.com to watch or listen to, an after-show where hosts recap and break down that night’s episode, take calls from fans and interview guests. The platform is open to all TV series from American Horror Story to American Idol to Big Brother to Game of Thrones to Keeping up with the Kardashians. The Network receives over 20 million weekly downloads from nearly 200 countries. With the success of AfterbuzzTV, the duo launched Black Hollywood Live! the world’s first online broadcast network dedicated to African American entertainment news and talk. BHL has over different 20 shows covering not only Hollywood but also the widest range of current, trending issues in the community.
Menounos and Undergaro's digital arm of Underman/ Omegagirl Productions also produces and distributes Book Circle Online, a series dedicated to book circle discussion centering on popular titles. They recently acquired the popular Schmoes Know Movies series, the #1 rated Itunes podcast on movie discussion, and rebranded it as the Schmoes Know Movies Network, creating a roster of shows. Menounos is also the host and Executive Producer of her talk series, Conversations with Maria Menounos, which debuted in the top five on itunes, featuring in depth, long form one-on-one interviews with stars and influencers. As a filmmaker, Menounos has directed and produced several films, which have played most of the major film festivals including Tribeca, South-by-Southwest, Hollywood, Palm Springs, Boston and Cinevegas.
In the world of charity and volunteerism, Menounos founded the non profit, Take Action Hollywood (TAH!) in 2001 following her journey to South Africa to cover the Aids crisis. TAH! is a charity whose mission is to utilize the power of the entertainment industry and the production medium to educate, empower and raise social awareness. Menounos and TAH! have teamed up with various organizations such as The Weinstein Company, Tide, Channel One News, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Nike, and Cosmo Magazine. TAH! has helped raise awareness for Diabetes, pet adoption, women’s suffering, MS,racism and countless others. Menounos and TAH! helped secure distribution for the award nominated Miramax holocaust documentary Paperclips. Menounos and TAH! created the Take Action-One Cup,a competition via Channel One designed to empower students and communities nationwide to confront social issues. Menounos and TAH! teamed with NIKE for their “Let Me Play” initiative to refurbish national neighborhood playgrounds. Menounos and TAH! created the annual “Day of Beauty” at LA children’s hospital where Hollywood stylists and other celebrities apply makeovers to terminally ill children. As a Diabetes Awareness Ambassador for Entertainment Industry Foundation, Menounos has spoken on Capitol Hill and is working with lobbyists on improving treatment for the disease, worldwide. Menounos is also proud to be the first Global Ambassador for Shining Hope for Communities - an innovative, grassroots non-profit organization working to champion gender equality and combat urban poverty in one of the largest slums in Africa: the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya.
She was the recent recipient of the 2012 Lifetime Impact Honoree Award for Variety Magazine's prestigious "Power of Women" event. She’s also been honored as a National Ambassador for GLAAD’s Spirit Day and as the 2013 Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade Grand Marshal. She received President George H. W. Bush’s Daily Point of Light Award and a Chase American Giving grant in honor of her work with Take Action Hollywood! on December 2, 2013 and served as the 2014 International CES Entertainment Matters Ambassador.
Menounos attended Boston’s Emerson College, where she majored in broadcast journalism and film. At Emerson, she became the first freshman in the school’s 125-year history to garner the prestigious EVVY award for best newscaster. After her junior year, Menounos became an international correspondent for Channel One News. At Channel One, Menounos interviewed President George W. Bush and travelled the globe reporting on world affairs. Menounos' parents were Greek immigrants whom she worked alongside cleaning nightclubs in Boston since the age of three. She remains proud of them and her heritage and credits her work ethic and success to those factors. In her free time, she loves playing and watching sports and working with rescue animals when not playing with her own.
