Julie Chen Moonves Biography
Julie Chen Moonves (Julie Suzanne Chen Moonves) is an American television personality, news anchor, and producer for CBS. Julie has been the host of the U.S. version of the CBS reality-television program Big Brother since its debut in July 2000. She is also the longest-serving host of any country’s version of the show.
She was a co-host and the moderator of the CBS daytime talk show, The Talk, for eight seasons. Previously, Moonves was a co-host of The Early Show on CBS.
Julie Chen Moonves Age
How old is Julie Chen? Julie is 52 years old as of 2022. She was born on January 6, 1970, in Queens, New York, the United States. In addition, Julie celebrates her birthday on January 6th every year.
Julie Chen Moonves Family
Julie Chen was born in Queens, New York City to Chinese immigrants.
Her grandfather, Lou Gaw Tong, grew up “dirt poor” in the rural Penglai in the Fujian province of China. However, he became wealthy through a chain of grocery stores and ultimately became a polygamist with nine wives and 11 children.
Julie has two older sisters, Gladys and Victoria. She is the Stepmother of Sara Moonves, Adam Moonves, and Michael Moonves. Chen and Moonves have a son, Charlie Moonves, born on September 24, 2009.
Julie speaks Mandarin Chinese but does not consider herself fluent. Regarding her heritage, she stated: “When my son was born it was like a revival of me trying to get back in touch with my Chinese roots. It’s important for me to have it back in my life, so I could put it into my son’s life.”
Julie Chen Moonves Education
Chen attended junior high school in the Whitestone area of Queens. Chen went on to graduate from St. Francis Preparatory School in 1987. She attended the University of Southern California and graduated in 1991, majoring in broadcast journalism and English.
Julie Chen Moonves Husband | Kids
Julie has been happily married to her husband, Les Moonves, since 2004. Les is an American media executive who was previously the CEO and chairman of CBS Corporation between 2003 and 2018.
On December 23, 2004, the duo, Chen and Moonves, were married in a private ceremony in Acapulco, Mexico. Subsequently, on September 24, 2009, Chen gave birth to their son, Charlie.
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Starting with the 35th episode of the twentieth season of Big Brother that aired on September 13, 2018, Chen began using her married name as part of her sign-off, saying, “I’m Julie Chen Moonves. Goodnight.”
This broke her established pattern where she would previously use her latter sign-off, Julie Chen. The sign-off received a mixed response from her viewers and fans on social media.
CBS officially affirmed that she would return to host the second season of Celebrity Big Brother in a press release on November 27, 2018, using the name “Julie Chen Moonves”.
Julie Chen Moonves Blepharoplasty
During the first week of Season 4 of The Talk, In September 2013, Julie revealed that she had undergone blepharoplasty early in her career after being pressured by her previous news director and a high-profile agent.
Julie said that her decision “divided” her family, but stated “I must live with every decision that I’ve made and it got me to where we are today. And I’m not going to look back.”
Julie Chen Moonves Career
One of her earlier jobs came in June 1990, working as an intern at CBS Morning News alongside Andy Cohen. This is the series 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 local news reporter for WDTN-TV, from 1995 to 1997.
In 2015, Julie revealed on The Talk that during her time in Dayton her news director had told her that she would never become a news anchor because of her “Asian eyes”.
After a “big-time agent” agreed and advised her to get plastic surgery, she made the decision to get surgery to reduce the epicanthic folds of her eyes.
From 1999 to 2002, Chen was the anchor of CBS Morning News and news anchor of CBS This Morning and later The Early Show, alongside Bryant Gumbel, Jane Clayson, Harry Smith, Hannah Storm, Maggie Rodriguez, Erica Hill, and Rene Syler.
From 2002 to 2010, she was a co-host of The Early Show on CBS, before leaving the daily position but remaining as a special contributing anchor of the program until its cancellation. Before joining CBS News, she was a reporter and weekend anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City.
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Since 2000, Julie has also been the host of the American version of Big Brother. During the first season (2000), Chen was widely criticized 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 highlighted in two interviews that she takes no personal offense at the term, adding that it may derive from her “precise on-air style” which comes from “a desire to be objective.”
Chen again acknowledged the nickname while discussing mugs made in her likeness when she proudly proclaimed, “I am the Chenbot!” in a segment on The Early Show.
Chen was the moderator and co-host of the CBS Daytime talk show, The Talk, which premiered on October 18, 2010.
The show features Julie, the show creator Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood, and Eve as the co-hosts. Former co-hosts include Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Aisha Tyler.
On September 18, 2018, Chen announced in a prerecorded tape that she would not be returning to The Talk because she needed “to spend more time at home with Moonves .”
Julie Chen Moonves Net Worth
Chen Moonves has an estimated net worth of $30 million. Her income is mainly from her successful career as a broadcast journalist.
Julie Chen Moonves Physical Statistics
- Build Slim
- Height 5 ft 4½ in or 164 cm
- Weight 56 kg or 123.5 lbs
- Hair Color Black (Natural)
- Eye Color Dark Brown
- Sexual Orientation Straight
Distinctive Features
- Protruding cheekbones
- Thin eyebrows
- Small eyes