Karyn Elaine Bryant (born December 23, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and television personality.

Early life

Bryant was born and raised in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. While in Massachusetts, she completed secondary school at

Lawrence Academy at Groton Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, co-educational college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Founded in 1792 as Groton Academy and chartered in 1793 by Governor John Hancock, Lawrence is the tenth ...

, and received a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

with concentrations in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. She is of Jamaican descent.

Career

Bryant's love of music led to her first television job in 1990, as an

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 ...

VJ. She later hosted a live, daily music program on FX called ''Sound fX'' alongside Matt Ostrom and

Orlando Jones Orlando Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv'', for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his role ...

Jeff Probst Jeffrey Lee Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American television presenter and producer and young adult fiction writer. He is best known as the Emmy Awards, Emmy Award–winning host of the American version of the reality television show ' ...

replaced Jones toward the end of the show's run. Bryant was chosen by

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

to host a series of entertainment vignettes called ''Rough Cut''. The success of the vignettes prompted TNT to turn ''Rough Cut'' into a weekly television series hosted and written by Bryant. This marked the beginning of Bryant's professional relationship with

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...

. TBS soon launched the wraparound series '' Movies, For Guys Who Like Movies'', allowing Bryant to drive a U.S. Naval LCAC

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

, train with Marine snipers and engage in other activities.

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

later picked Bryant to host his new daily

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

game show, ''Name That Video'' in 2001; Bryant filmed 50 episodes. After a brief stint hosting

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's '' Talk Back Live'', Bryant was chosen to co-anchor

's revamped ''

Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show ...

'' in 2004. Bryant, a

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

and

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...

fan, joined

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

for their first live New Years Eve show as the countdown to 2006 began. That year, Bryant joined the ''

Showtime Championship Boxing ''Showtime Championship Boxing'' is a television boxing program that aired on Showtime (TV network), Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it was broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. ''Showtime Championship Boxing'', which was very ...

'' announcer team with Steve Albert, Al Bernstein and Jim Gray. In May 2008, Bryant was invited by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

to join their Elite Xtreme Combat announcer team for their new primetime

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

programming, debuting

for the first time on primetime network television May 31, 2008. Bryant also co-owns MMAheat.com which covers most

sporting events. MMA H.E.A.T. (the show) is a half-hour sports and entertainment podcast that Bryant writes and anchors ("H.E.A.T." stands for "Heart. Endurance. Aggression. Technique."). As of the end or 2018 she co-hosted most of the UFC Pre and Post shows on

TV appearances

Hosting

*''Awake on the Wild Side'' –

*''Weekend Blastoff'' –

*''Buzzcut'' –

*'' Like We Care'' –

*''Sound FX'' – FX *''Rough Cut'' –

*'' Movies, For Guys Who Like Movies'' – TBS *'' Name That Video'' –

*'' Junkyard Wars'' –

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 ...

*'' For Love or Money – Reunion Special'' –

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 ...

*''

'' (2005) –

*''

's New Year's Eve Special, Live From

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

'' (2005) –

*''

'' (2006–2009) – Showtime *'' Elite Xtreme Combat'' (2008) –

*'' Cindy Crawford Meaningful Beauty'' skin care – infomercial *''MMA H.E.A.T.'' (2009–present) * UFC Now

Recurring roles

*'' Malcolm and Eddie'' *'' Sliders''

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial website (MMA H.E.A.T.)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Karyn American game show hosts American infotainers American television actresses American television journalists American television talk show hosts Brown University alumni Living people Actresses from Boston American video jockeys Mixed martial arts broadcasters 1968 births American people of Jamaican descent American women non-fiction writers American women television journalists Fox Sports 1 people 21st-century American women