Five Things you Didn’t Know about Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos

As many of you have probably read this week, Extra host Maria Menounos is officially stepping down as co-host of the show.  There was speculation that Menounos was asked to leave but multiple sources have said that it’s “100% not true.”  Apparently she decided months ago that it was time to explore her options since her contract was up for renewal.  Among those options is her new reality series on Oxygen called “Chasing Maria Menounos.”   The show focuses on her life living with her long time boyfriend Kevin Undergaro and her Greek parents.

Menounos, 35, was rumored to be clashing with Mario Lopez but nothing has officially confirmed this gossip.  Anyway, in order to honor the beauty we decided that it was time you guys had a chance to learn a little more about her.  Here are five things you didn’t know about Maria Menounos.

Maria Menounos Net Worth

Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter, who has a net worth of $7 million. She earned her net worth as a correspondent on Today, Extra, Access Hollywood and several other television programs

Miss Massuchusetts Teen USA in 2006

In 2006 she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA.  Later Menounos attended Emerson College where she participated in the now award winning organization, Emerson Independent Video. She graduated from Emerson in 2000 and was working for Channel One News in Boston. In 2002, Entertainment Tonight hired Menounos as a correspondent and she went on to co-host a few episodes of the Today show in 2006 and 2007.

She was a size 14 in college

At age 13, Menounos got a job working at a doughnut shop and “couldn’t resist” eating what she was selling. “In my freshman year of high school I was a size 3, and I grew a size every day,” she told Ladies Home Journal. “Things got worse in college: I didn’t gain the Freshman 15 — I gained the Freshman 40 . . . I grew to a size 14 and kept growing.”  Menounos however, rebounded by creating her own diet plan and losing 40 lbs in one year.

Going to Chili’s the Night after the Oscars?

In an interview with Realityworld, Menounos had this to say about the Oscars: “I mean, I guess the business that we’re in and, you know, Sunday I was at the Oscars and you’re getting drenched in diamonds and gorgeous gowns. And then the next night you’re going to Chili’s and having dinner in your sweats. So there’s like the me that works in this business and then there’s the real me that is outside of that. So I enjoy definitely the perks of all of this but there’s a reality to it too.”

Oh, and here’s 25 more things from US Weekly in the 1st person

1. I’m a South Park addict.
2. I own a 1962 red-and-white Corvair convertible.
3. When I was young, I had to wear metal leg braces and steel shoes.
4. I can quote lines from episodes of the original Star Trek.
5. I had my first kiss at age 18.
6. My first word was sokolata, Greek for chocolate.
7. I started cooking in first grade.
8. I’m dying to play Roxie Hart in [the Broadway musical] Chicago.
9. Every February, I watch Turner Classic Movies’ 24/7 screenings of past Oscar-nominated films.
10. I adopt elephants through Sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.
11. I almost pursued a career in WWE wrestling.
12. My parents live with me [in L.A.] most of the year.
13. My perfect night in includes a beer and loaded potato skins.
14. I once saved a 5-year-old from choking.
15. I can recite several Shakespearean sonnets.
16. I launched Afterbuzztv.com because I believe webcasting and podcasting are the future.
17. I sang in the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church choir for 10 years.
18. I used to be a makeup artist.
19. I want to buy a motor home and drive across the country.
20. I have a photographic memory.
21. My first pet was a parakeet I named Pipi. Embarrassing!
22. Being outdoors makes me happy.
23. I sleep in my HoodieBuddie sweatshirt. The drawstrings are actually headphones, and there’s a plug in the pocket for my iPod so I can fall asleep listening to a white-noise app.
24. I make the juiciest Thanksgiving turkey!
25. Don’t challenge me to a game of Pictionary!

Photo by Skip Bolen/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment

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