Jeannie Camtu Mai (born January 4, 1979) is an American television personality, best known for her work on the makeover show '' How Do I Look?'' and the syndicated daytime talk show ''

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to reality in its unmediated form. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is an "impossible" category because of its inconceivability and opposition to expression. In depth psychology The Real is the ...

''. As a fashion expert, she is frequently featured on television programs such as ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'', '' Extra TV'', ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'', and ''

Insider Insider(s) or The Insider(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Insiders'', a comic series by Mark Millar and Paul Grist, published in ''Crisis'' * The Insiders, a team of DC Comics characters in the Brainiac stories * ''I ...

''. She has also appeared as a host for E! and as a red carpet host for the ''American Music Awards''. Mai was a correspondent for the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageants; she co-hosted the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

editions as well.

Early life

Jeannie Mai was born and raised in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, to a Chinese Vietnamese father and a Vietnamese mother. She attended Milpitas High School.

Career

1997–2012

At age 18, Mai launched her career as a makeup artist for

MAC Cosmetics M A C Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company has been headquartered in New York City since becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998. MAC is an acron ...

while still living in San Jose. As a trainer, she worked her way from face to face until she was eventually traveling the world to work for celebrities such as

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. This led her to also serve as a celebrity-makeup stylist for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

'', KCAL

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and '' Good Day Sacramento''. In 2003, Mai began auditioning for local television networks with self-written scripts to demonstrate her hosting talents. She was hired to co-host the Asian-American magazine-style show '' Stir'' on the International Channel. Later, the San Francisco-based California Music Channel hired her to host her own music countdown. Mai went on to become an entertainment reporter and producer of the WB's '' The Daily Mixx''. In 2005, Mai landed her first primetime hosting role on ''Character Fantasy'' on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

, where she inspired guests each week to live their fantasies. Following this, she moved to Los Angeles to appear on MTV's ''Granted'' alongside Frankie Muniz and hosted segments related to fashion and entertainment news on networks such as E!, Lifetime,

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on the lattermost's talk morning program ''

''. She also started appearing as a member of the beauty squad on TLC's ''10 Years Younger''. In 2008, Mai hosted TLC's '' Miss America Reality Check''. She also starred in the makeover special ''Dude, Where's Your Style'', and became spokesperson of the cosmetics Never Accept Ordinary. The following year, Mai became host of the Style Network's fashion makeover show '' How Do I Look?'' She also served as a correspondent and weekend host on NBC's '' Extra TV'' with

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

. In the digital realm, Mai was the resident contributor to Perez Hilton's fashion site Cocoperez.com. In 2011, Mai began hosting the

pageant and was a fashion consultant on the

weight-loss competition ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and Obesity, obese contestants attempting to lose ...

''. Furthermore, Mai also hosted the stylist competition ''The Next Style Star'' from Maker Studios, and was the digital correspondent for NBC's ''Fashion Star''. In 2012, she appeared as a guest judge on '' Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1''.

2013–present

In 2013, Mai became the host of a live weekly series titled ''Style Pop'' on the

Style Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. Launched on October 1, 1998 as Style Network, a spin-off of E!, the channel initially consisted of fashion, ...

which ran for one season. Jeannie Mai served as one of the co-hosts of the Emmy-winning daytime talk show ''

'' from its debut in 2013 until its conclusion in 2022. Known for her lively personality and candid discussions, Mai brought her unique perspective to the panel, which included co-hosts like Tamera Mowry, Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love,

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons r ...

, and later,

Garcelle Beauvais Garcelle Beauvais (, formerly Beauvais-Nilon; born November 26, 1966) is a Haitian-American actress and television personality. She is best known for her starring roles in the sitcom ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' and the crime drama series ''NYPD Blue' ...

. Throughout her tenure, she covered a range of topics, from personal experiences and pop culture to social issues and lifestyle advice. The show premiered on July 15, 2013. Following a trial summer run during 2013 on the

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (stylized as FOX TV STATIONS; also known as FTS) is a group of television stations in the United States owned-and-operated by Fox Corporation. It owns LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, and Fox Soul. It also oversees ...

group, it was picked up to series the following year. In 2018, Mai and her co-hosts won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for their work. In 2015, Mai hosted the reality competition '' Steampunk'd'' on GSN. She was also a fashion correspondent on ''

''. In 2016, Mai brought her show ''How Do I Look?'' to Asia's

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

network. The following year, she portrayed Lady Luck on the American game show '' The Joker's Wild''. Mai also became an ambassador for ReimagineMyself.com a program encouraging people living with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) to reimagine life with the chronic disease. From 2019 to 2022 Mai appeared as a sideline correspondent on the hit mini-golf competition show '' Holey Moley'' on ABC. On September 2, 2020, Mai was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the 29th season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. She was forced to exit the show on November 2, 2020, after being diagnosed with epiglottitis, an inflammatory condition that can cause swelling and block airflow to the lungs. On October 18, 2022, Mai was announced as the host of '' America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation'', which premiered on December 9, 2022. On January 4, 2023, Mai and former Miss Universe

Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, actress, and media personality. Culpo has won Miss Rhode Island USA, Miss USA 2012, and Miss Universe 2012. Early life and education Olivia Frances Culpo was born on May 8, 1992, ...

were announced as hosts for the 71st Miss Universe pageant to be held at

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on January 14. Mai, Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel and

Alden Richards Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. (born January 2, 1992), known professionally as Alden Richards, is a Filipino actor, entrepreneur television personality, and singer. Known for his leading man roles in romantic and historical drama in television an ...

were announced as hosts for the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 to be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, Philippines, on May 22, 2024. On October 14, 2024, Lifetime announced its lineup of holiday movies for the upcoming Christmas season. Among them, Mai will appear in a supporting role in "''Christmas In The Spotlight''," a romantic holiday comedy that will loosely interpret the real-life relationship between

Travis Kelce Travis Michael Kelce ( ; born October 5, 1989) is an American professional American football, football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NF ...

and

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

Personal life

Mai is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. She married Freddy Harteis on August 11, 2007; the couple divorced in December 2018. In 2019, Mai announced that she had started dating rapper

Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for ...

. The couple married in 2021 at their home in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In January 2022, it was announced that Mai had given birth to a daughter. On September 14, 2023, Jenkins filed for divorce from Mai, seeking joint legal custody of their daughter. On June 12, 2024, the divorce was finalized.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mai, Jeannie American Christians American people of Chinese descent American people of Vietnamese descent American television talk show hosts Christians from California Living people People from Milpitas, California 1979 births