Julie Suzanne Chen (born January 6, 1970) is an American television personality, news anchor, and producer for CBS. She has been the host of the U.S. version of the CBS reality TV program Big Brother since its debut in July 2000 and is the longest-serving host of any country's version of the show. She is also a co-host and the moderator of the CBS daytime show, The Talk. Previously, she was a co-anchor of The Early Show on CBS.

Early life

Julie Chen was born in Queens, New York. Chen's mother is Burmese Chinese, Wan Ling Chen 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. Her two older sisters are Gladys and Victoria.

Chen attended Junior High School 194 in the Whitestone area of Queens, where she was voted "Most Intelligent" and "Most Likely to Succeed." She graduated from high school in 1987 from St. Francis Prep after having missed the cutoff scores for specialized high school entrance exams for schools like the 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.

Career

One of her earlier jobs came in June 1990, interning 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 for CBS Morning News and news anchor for CBS This Morning and later The Early Show, alongside Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson. From 2002-2010, she was a co-host for The Early Show on CBS, before leaving the daily position but remaining as a Special Contributing Anchor for the program until its cancellation. Before CBS News she was a reporter and weekend anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City.

Chen had worked for the CBS ''The Early Show from 1999-2010. She became a co-host in early 2002 and worked beside many anchors, including Bryant Gumbel, Hannah Storm, Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez, Erica Hill, Jane Clayson, and Rene Syler.

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." 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 likeness when she proudly proclaimed, "I am the Chenbot!" in a segment on the CBS Early Show.

Julie Chen is the moderator of the CBS daytime talk show The Talk, along with a panel of other "celebrity" moms. Season 1 of this series featured Chen with the co-hosts Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur who left during the first season. In August 2011, contract options for Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert and Sharon Osbourne were picked up and extended for Season 2. However, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete's contracts were not renewed. No official reason was released from the show's producer John Redmann or CBS, which lead to gossip columns and internet forums to speculate on sensational rumors about why they were not asked to come back. In September 2011, they were replaced by co-host Sheryl Underwood and guest hosts actress Molly Shannon and reality TV star Kris Jenner. On October 23, 2011, the show confirmed officially that Aisha Tyler was added as a co-host. The show is similar to The View although not as politicized. It premiered on October 18, 2010.

Personal life

Following her graduation from USC as a broadcasting and English major, Julie Chen became a news assistant for ABC News in L.A in September 1991. There, Julie Chen met her future longtime boyfriend, TV news editor Gary Donahue. Chen focused on her career, anchoring for both CBS Morning News and The Early Show as well as hosting the popular summer reality television series Big Brother. Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Television, began dating the Big Brother host during his long separation from his estranged wife Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves. On April 22, 2003, a week after Les Moonves signed a five-year multimillion dollar contract with Viacom, his wife finally filed for divorce in L.A. Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences, according to her lawyer Dennis Wasser. Divorce proceedings were delayed for almost two years due to financial settlement disagreements. On December 10, 2004, Moonves got a court to grant an early divorce, leaving spousal support and child support to be determined at a later date.

On December 23, 2004, Julie Chen married Les Moonves in a private ceremony attended by friends and family at a private home in Acapulco, Mexico. Chen wore an ivory gown designed by renowned Lebanese designer Reem Acra, while Moonves wore an Armani suit. Following an old Chinese wedding tradition, Chen walked down the aisle with a coin in her shoe to guarantee prosperity. Following the ceremony, the couple danced to "The Way You Look Tonight" accompanied by a fireworks show. Later, Chen explained in a Sirius Satellite Radio interview with Howard Stern that she signed "a very generous" prenup with Les Moonves. Chen is the stepmother of Les' three children: Adam, Michael, and Sara Moonves from his first marriage with Nancy. On September 24, 2009, she gave birth to a son named Charlie.

Chen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. She is also a devoted yogi.

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