Maria Menounos (born on June 8, 1978 in Medford, Massachusetts) is an American actress/journalist/television presenter. She is of Greek ancestry and speaks Greek fluently.

In 1995, Menounos began to enroll in beauty pageants. The following year, she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA. She enrolled at Boston's Emerson College. During her senior year, she was hired as a reporter for Channel One News, known as the top news source for American students. Her work for Channel One's 10-minute segments included traveling to El Salvador to report on the earthquake of 2001 and interviewing President George W. Bush.