Marianela Pereyra

Early life

Born of two professional tango dancers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marianela moved to the United States at the age of five, and took her new country by storm. Soon after her arrival in Washington, DC, at the age of 13, she fell in love with ballet, and was performing solos in a local dance company, spending most of her free time on her toes. Her part-time passion unearthed a real gift – she was quick on her feet. It was through dance that she was able to express herself creatively and that would just be the beginning.

Career

A self-proclaimed nerd, with a natural curiosity and intense urge to understand everything, she spent her college years buried in her books and graduated the University of Maryland a Dean's Scholar, cum laude. It was in college that she was given an opportunity to produce a bilingual health show which her Grandpa, Dr. Quiroga, was thrilled to hear about. Relentlessly trying to maintain her 4.0 average while keeping up with her demanding dance schedule proved to be a challenging time for her, so naturally she took on another task, as the host and producer of her own music video show, "Mhz Hot." She has not stopped talking since - and for good reason. The show got picked up nationally in 2002 by Dish Network, then nominated by Billboard as one of the best Latin-Pop video shows in the nation.

It was finally time to venture West! She had mentally prepared herself for the long haul of rejection and disappointment, but in just three months she had booked a radio show on KLSX; a principal role on the sitcom Half & Half; and the VJ slot on music channel The FUSE Music Channel. It was on FUSE where she dove head first into her first ever live daily show which would keep her in New York for the next 5 years. It was across from Madison Square Garden that Marianela marked the start of her entertainment career. Interviewing the biggest names in the business: 50 Cent, Metallica, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West, Usher, Eminem, The Cure, to name a few. Her spontaneity, quick wit, and broad knowledge of pop culture made the set a fun and unpredictable place to be. Getting slobbered by Rob Schneider, accosted by Eminem, and belly bumped by Bone Crusher, really put her "bucket list" into perspective.

After a 4-year run hosting a live music video show Marianela found herself parlaying her love and knowledge of sports into multiple gigs on ESPN. She hosted "ESPNU's Roadtrip" where she travelled to the best college games in the land. Eventually she found herself at the mothership in Bristol, CT to host ESPNU's first ever late night sports entertainment show, UNITE. To her surprise NASCAR came knocking and she was thrilled to have the opportunity to host "Trackside" and become a part of the traveling circus. She was finally able to put her languages to use as Season X host of The World Poker Tour for Fox Sports and as the "late night princess" of NBC's Poker After Dark.

So it came as no surprise when NBC rolled the dice and had her co-host the Grammy's with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood, CNN made her a featured panelist on Showbiz Tonight, MTV gave her a co-host gig opposite Mario Lopez on MTV's Top Pop Group, and VH1 chose her to host the irreverent "Dance Cam Slam." That same year she appeared as a principal on the long running primetime drama, ER, once again making Grandpa proud.

Most recently Marianela was hired by Travel Channel as the host of her own beach series. Throughout all her shows she was somehow able to incorporate a "food" segment. A self-proclaimed foodie, who learned everything from her culinary hero, Abuelita, food has been at the center of it all.