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Julie Chen Profile |
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Birth Date: January 6, 1970
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Birth Place: New York City, New York, USA
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Birth Name: Julie Suzanne Chen
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Height: 5'5"
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Biography |
Julie Chen is an American television personality, news
anchor, journalist, and producer for CBS. She has 12 years
of newscasting experience. She is best known for
co-anchoring CBS's The Early Show, alongside Harry Smith and
Maggie Rodriguez. She has been the host of the U.S. version
of Big Brother since its debut in July 2000.
Chen's mother grew up in Rangoon, Burma, where Chen's
grandfather was a leading industrialist. Her father was born
in China and was one of the top leaders in the Kuomintang
government of Chiang Kai-shek. Consequently, her family
moved everywhere in China, eventually fleeing to Taiwan.
Chen was born in Queens, New York.
Chen attended Junior High School 194 in Queens, where she
was voted "Most Intelligent and Most Likely to Succeed." She
graduated high school in 1987 from St. Francis Prep after
having failed entrance exams for Bronx High School of
Science, the school her older sisters attended. She attended
the University of Southern California and graduated in 1991
with a major in broadcast journalism and in English. One of
her earlier jobs came in June of 1989, at CBS Morning
News--the series which she would anchor a decade
later--where she answered phones and copied faxes for
distribution. The following year, while still in school, she
worked for ABC NewsOne for one season as a desk assistant.
She was subsequently promoted to work as a producer for the
next three years. The following year, she traveled to
Dayton, Ohio to work as a newsanchor for WDTN-TV, from 1995
to 1997.
From 1999 to 2002, Chen was the anchor of both early-morning
shows, CBS Morning News & The Early Show, alongside Bryant
Gumbel and Jane Clayson. Since 2002, she has been a co-host
for The Early Show on CBS. Before CBS News she was a
reporter and weekend anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City.
Since 2000, she has also been the host of the American
version of Big Brother. During the first season (2000), Chen
was widely criticized in the media for her heavily scripted,
wooden delivery in her interaction with the studio audience
and in the interviews on the live programs, earning her the
nickname "Chenbot" among the Internet and many fans. She has
indicated in two separate interviews, that she takes no
personal offense to the term, adding that it may derive from
her "precise on-air style" which comes from "a desire to be
objective."
She again acknowledged the nickname while discussing mugs
made in her liking when she proudly proclaimed, "I am the
Chenbot!" in a segment on the CBS Early Show.
On December 23, 2004, she married Leslie Moonves, president
and CEO of CBS Television. |
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Other
Information |
Engaged to TV news editor Gary Donahue whom she has been
dating since 1991. [August 2000]
Graduated from USC in 1991
Stepmother of Sara Moonves. |
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since August 28, 2008