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Julie Chen-Moonves

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Julie Chen-Moonves
Presenter Profile
Nickname Chen Bot
Born January 6, 1970 (1970-01-06) (age 55)
Hometown New York City, USA
Known For Host of Big Brother (U.S.)
Years Active 2000 - present
Social Media
Twitter JCMoonves
Instagram juliechenmoonves
Facebook JCMoonves

Julie Suzanne Chen-Moonves (née Chen) is an American television personality and the longtime host of the U.S. version of the reality series Big Brother (U.S.).

She began hosting when the series premiered in 2000 with Big Brother 1 (US), and from Big Brother 2 (US) onward has served as the sole host of the franchise.[1] Notably, Chen-Moonves was absent from hosting duties only during the 2023 spin-off Big Brother: Reindeer Games.[2]

Throughout her tenure, Chen-Moonves has become strongly associated with the show's culture and fandom. She is known for her signature phrase “but first,” often used to transition into key segments of the broadcast.[3] Her precise delivery and stage mannerisms have led fans to affectionately nickname her the "Chenbot," a moniker that has become a long-running in-joke among viewers.[4] Over the years, her consistency as host has been credited with anchoring the franchise, even as the format and audience evolved.

Outside of Big Brother, Chen-Moonves previously co-hosted the daytime panel show The Talk before resigning in 2018.[5] She is married to media executive Leslie Moonves, the former president and CEO of CBS Corporation.

Biography[]

Retrieved from CBS

Julie Chen hosts the hit summer reality series Big Brother, now in its 22nd season on CBS.

Chen was one of the original hosts of The Talk, serving as host and moderator from 2010 to 2018 for the Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five female hosts.

Chen served as Special Contributing Anchor of CBS News' weekday morning broadcast "The Early Show" from 2010 to 2011, and co-anchor from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, she served as the news anchor of "The Early Show" and anchor of the "CBS Morning News," the CBS Television Network’s early-morning, half-hour broadcast, beginning Nov. 1, 1999, when "The Early Show" debuted under that title.

Chen covered several major news stories for "The Early Show," including the war in Iraq, and in March 2003 she reported for the program during the conflict from Kuwait and Qatar. Chen interviewed newsmakers such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Queen Rania of Jordan, former Defense Secretary William Cohen, and celebrities including Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Chris Rock and Jennifer Lopez.

Prior to "The Early Show," Chen worked as a reporter and anchor for WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York (1997-1999).

Before joining CBS News, Chen was a reporter for WDTN-TV Dayton (1995-1997). She was a producer for ABC NewsOne (1992-1995), the network’s affiliate news service, and she was a desk assistant in ABC News' Los Angeles bureau (1990-1991), where she worked on the award-winning primetime special, "Anatomy of a Riot."

Chen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. A devoted yogi, Chen says there's no better way than yoga to start her day.

Chen was born in Queens, N.Y. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991 with a degree in broadcast journalism and English. She lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband, with whom she has a son, Charlie, and three stepchildren, Adam, Sara and Mike. Follow Julie on Twitter @JulieChen and on Instagram @juliechencbs.[6]

Julie Chen Moonves hosts the hit reality series Celebrity Big Brother, now in its second season on CBS.

Chen was one of the original hosts of The Talk, serving as host and moderator from 2010 to 2018 for the Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five female hosts.

Chen served as Special Contributing Anchor of CBS News' weekday morning broadcast The Early Show from 2010 to 2011, and co-anchor from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, she served as the news anchor of The Early Show and anchor of the CBS Morning News, the CBS Television Network's early-morning, half-hour broadcast, beginning Nov. 1, 1999, when The Early Show debuted under that title.

Chen covered several major news stories for The Early Show, including the war in Iraq, and in March 2003 she reported for the program during the conflict from Kuwait and Qatar. Chen interviewed newsmakers such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Queen Rania of Jordan, former Defense Secretary William Cohen, and celebrities including Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Chris Rock, and Jennifer Lopez.

Prior to The Early Show, Chen worked as a reporter and anchor for WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York (1997-1999).

Before joining CBS News, Chen was a reporter for WDTN-TV Dayton (1995-1997). She was a producer for ABC NewsOne (1992-1995), the network's affiliate news service, and she was a desk assistant in ABC News' Los Angeles bureau (1990-1991), where she worked on the award-winning primetime special, Anatomy of a Riot.

Chen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. A devoted yogi, Chen says there's no better way than yoga to start her day.

Chen was born in Queens, N.Y. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991 with a degree in broadcast journalism and English. She lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband, with whom she has a son and three stepchildren. Follow Julie on Twitter @JulieChen and on Instagram @juliechencbs.[7]

Julie Chen serves as host and moderator of The Talk, CBS’s Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five female hosts. Chen, who is part of The Talk’s writing team that won its first Daytime Emmy in 2015 for “Outstanding Writing Special Class,” hosts alongside Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler and Sheryl Underwood. In addition, Chen hosts the hit summer reality series Big Brother, as well as Big Brother: Over the Top, the new fall digital edition.

Chen served as Special Contributing Anchor of CBS News' weekday morning broadcast The Early Show from 2010 to 2011, and co-anchor from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, she served as the news anchor of The Early Show and anchor of the CBS Morning News, the CBS Television Network's early-morning, half-hour broadcast, beginning Nov. 1, 1999, when The Early Show debuted under that title.

Chen covered several major news stories for The Early Show, including the war in Iraq, and in March 2003 she reported for the program during the conflict from Kuwait and Qatar. Chen interviewed newsmakers such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Queen Rania of Jordan and former Defense Secretary William Cohen, and celebrities including Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Chris Rock and Jennifer Lopez.

Prior to The Early Show, Chen worked as a reporter and anchor for WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York (1997-1999).

Before joining CBS News, Chen was a reporter for WDTN-TV Dayton (1995-1997). She was a producer for ABC NewsOne (1992-1995), the network's affiliate news service, and she was a desk assistant in ABC News' Los Angeles bureau (1990-1991), where she worked on the award-winning primetime special, "Anatomy of a Riot."

Chen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. A devoted yogi, Chen says there's no better way than yoga to start her day.

Chen was born in Queens, N.Y. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991 with a degree in broadcast journalism and English. She lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband, Leslie Moonves, with whom she has a son, Charlie, and three stepchildren, Adam, Sara and Mike.

Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieChen.[8].


Julie Chen has been host of "The Early Show" since October 2002. Throughout that time she has covered many of the biggest news stories, including the war in Iraq, and reported for the program during the war from Kuwait and Qatar in March 2003. Chen has also interviewed many of the world's top newsmakers, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Queen Rania of Jordan and former Defense Secretary William Cohen, as well as celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Barbra Streisand, Robert DeNiro and Robert Redford, among many others. Chen has served as news anchor of "The Early Show" and anchor of the "CBS Morning News," the Network's early-morning broadcast, since Nov. 1, 1999, when "The Early Show" debuted under that title. Prior to joining "The Early Show," Chen was a reporter and anchor for WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York (1997-99). Chen spends her summers doing double duty between hosting "The Early Show" and the popular reality show "Big Brother". Before joining CBS News, Chen worked as a reporter for WDTN-TV Dayton (1995-97). She began her career at ABC News (1990-95), where she worked on the late night news program, "Nightline," and won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism for her work on "Nightline's" primetime special, "Anatomy of a Riot," about the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Chen was born in Queens, N.Y. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in broadcast journalism and English. Chen lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband, with whom she has a son and three stepchildren.[9]

Gallery[]

Big Brother on The Talk[]

Unknown to many fans, Julie has played a condensed version of Big Brother on daytime CBS talk show The Talk, of which she served as co-host and moderator from 2010 to 2018. The competition was held in promotion of Big Brother 13.

Main article: Big Brother on The Talk

Trivia[]

  • Aaryn Gries was revealed to be Julie's least favorite houseguest while her favorite houseguest is Janelle Pierzina.
  • Julie said in an interview if she ever played Big Brother she would not go far because she can't keep a secret.
  • Her former co-host on The Talk, Sara Gilbert is a huge fan of Big Brother.
  • Julie said about game rigging on The Hollywood Reporter when asked if she was frustrated with managing the "talent [she] works with; "We can't really 'manage' the houseguests because you can't dilute or infect the game."
    • She said in the same segment that the "overt racism" from season 15 was the hardest for her to watch.
    • Her former Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood also denied game rigging on The Talk when they talked about The Biggest Loser's controversial weight loss methods comparing The Biggest Loser's weight loss drug use/800 calorie diet to Big Brother's 24/7 video recording of the houseguests saying the contestants on The Biggest Loser should be recorded 24/7 to see what the contestants are eating and their true methods of dieting. Julie added to this saying she would like the producers to be filmed 24/7 to find out their true motivations for "helping" the contestants lose weight. This also confirms there is no game rigging on Big Brother.
  • In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Julie revealed that a Celebrity season for Big Brother U.S was in the works and at one point the production even had cast actress Paris Hilton to compete on the season. However, the season was scrapped because the producers thought that a Celebrity season would cause Big Brother to jump the shark. Many years later, during the run of season 19, the first ever Celebrity season was announced to be airing in the winter of 2018.
  • Julie was pregnant with her son, Charlie, during season 11 and gave birth soon after the season wrapped, on September 24, 2009.[11] She gave him a birthday shoutout during the Week 7 eviction episode of season 22, as it aired on his 11th birthday.
  • As of season 20's Double Eviction, Julie has referred to herself as "Julie Chen-Moonves" rather than just "Julie Chen", in support of her husband Les Moonves, amid all of the controversy surrounding his sexual assault allegations.
  • In a season nineteen episode of Family Guy entitled "Cutawayland", Julie was the subject of ridicule. A scene saw Peter Griffin watching an episode of Big Brother on his smartphone, with a parody of the opening narration playing out that referenced several tabloid scandals Julie was apart of, most notably the sexual allegations surrounding her husband, Les Moonves, and her resulting resignation from The Talk.[12]
  • Julie was interviewed for the Big Brother: 25th Anniversary Celebration ahead of season 25.
    • During filming for this special, she revealed that she was not CBS' first choice for the host of Big Brother, and that Meredith Vieira was. She also revealed that she initially turned down the offer due to fear of jeopardizing her dream job of someday hosting 60 Minutes, and was later told she had to take the position by her boss.[13]
  • Julie was featured in Variety's "40 Most Powerful Women on Reality TV in 2023" list alongside Cirie Fields, Kandi Burruss, Michelle Visage and Tiffany Pollard, in addition to Carrie Ann Inaba, who guest hosted with Julie on The Talk a few times before becoming her permanent replacement following her departure.[14]
  • Julie's former The Talk co-host Sharon Osbourne later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 23 (UK) as a "Celebrity Lodger".
  • On September 12, 2024, it was announced that due to having a mild COVID infection, Julie would not host the live eviction show for Week 8 of season 26, marking the first time she has missed a live show, even during her pregnancy in season 11. The Talk host Jerry O'Connell, who previously appeared during the fifth eviction episode of Celebrity Big Brother 3 (US), subbed in for Julie that night.[15][16]

References[]

  1. ↑ Julie Chen Talks Hosting Big Brother For Over 20 Years (February 12, 2020).
  2. ↑ Big Brother: Reindeer Games – Everything to Know (December 11, 2023).
  3. ↑ Julie Chen’s Iconic “But First” Is The Heart Of Big Brother (July 7, 2021).
  4. ↑ Big Brother Fans Explain The Origins of the “Chenbot” Nickname (August 19, 2019).
  5. ↑ Julie Chen Steps Down From The Talk Amid Husband Leslie Moonves’ Exit (September 18, 2018).
  6. ↑ Big Brother. Julie Chen Moonves. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on 10 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Celebrity Big Brother. Julie Chen Moonves. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on 10 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Big Brother: Over the Top. Julie Chen. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on 10 August 2020.
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230208171022/https://www.cbs.com/shows/big_brother/cast/60464
  10. ↑ https://x.com/sharontharp/status/1811431002243297329
  11. ↑ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-a-boy-for-julie-chen/
  12. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/BigBrother/comments/jf71ma/family_guy_addressed_the_julie_chenles_moonves/
  13. ↑ https://www.etonline.com/media/videos/big-brother-julie-chen-moonves-claims-another-famous-anchor-was-first-choice-to-host
  14. ↑ https://variety.com/lists/female-reality-stars-impact-2023/
  15. ↑ https://x.com/JCMoonves/status/1834290328616009968
  16. ↑ https://parade.com/tv/big-brother-26-julie-chen-moonves-covid-absence-jerry-oconnell
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