Marilyn Denis (born July 1, 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television and radio personality. Denis is the host of '' The Marilyn Denis Show'' and co-host of CHUM-FM's ''Marilyn Denis and Jamar''.

Early life and education

Born in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, she grew up in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

and received a bachelor's degree in radio, television and advertising from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Career

Marilyn began her broadcasting career at a local radio station in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Univers ...

, and later moved to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

where she worked at CHFM & CJAY-FM. In addition, she was a sports and entertainment reporter and weather announcer at CFCN-TV and

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

. From July 2, 1986 until present, Denis has been one of the co-hosts of CHUM-FM's morning show. Originally titled ''Roger, Rick and Marilyn'', co-hosting with Roger Ashby and Rick Hodge, then ''Roger and Marilyn'' after the departure of Hodge in June 2008 (Hodge's replacement, Darren B. Lamb, departed from the station in September 2015) until Ashby's retirement in December 2018 and is currently titled ''Marilyn Denis and Jamar''. From September 1989 to May 2008, she also hosted the syndicated daytime

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...

''Cityline'' on Citytv and A-Channel. With the

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

purchase of

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CH ...

, and the subsequent sale of five Citytv stations to

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsne ...

, mandated by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

, Denis temporarily found herself working for two separate media competitors. To resolve this situation, Denis announced that she would be leaving ''Cityline'' after 19 years to pursue current and future projects with the

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divisi ...

. Denis hosted her last show on May 23, 2008. In June 2008, Denis announced she would be hosting a new show, '' The Marilyn Denis Show'', on

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

, which was scheduled to premiere in fall 2010. However, due to studio construction, the program premiered on January 10, 2011 on CTV. As of January 2022, she continues to host her highly regarded national show. Denis was awarded an honorary PhD in Humane Letters from her alma mater, the

. Denis also delivered the commencement speech at the University of Idaho on May 13, 2017.

Personal life

Denis resides in

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont St ...

. On May 8, 2018, Marilyn announced that she was engaged to her high-school prom date, Jim Helman. They married on June 19, 2018. Her son, Adam Wylde (born 1988) is the morning host with TJ and Jax Irwin, at Bell Media's

CKFM-FM CKFM-FM (''99.9 Virgin Radio'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting on 99.9 MHz in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Bell Media. The station airs a Top 40/CHR format, and is the flagship of Canada's "Virgin Radio" stations. CKFM's ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, and the CEO, Head of Content & Partnerships at the Steve Dangle Podcast Network.

Awards

In 2005 and 2006, Marilyn won the Viewer's Choice Award at the

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United State ...

s. In 2007, Denia won the Gemini for Best Host in a Lifestyle/Information series for ''Cityline''. '' The Marilyn Denis Show'' was awarded Best Talk Program at the 2016 and 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. In 2006, Marilyn was honoured with

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

's "Rosalie Award", named after Canadian radio pioneer

Rosalie Trombley Rosalie Trombley (September 18, 1939 – November 23, 2021) was a Canadian music director of AM Top 40 radio station CKLW, also known as "The Big 8". She was known for her ability to select songs that would later become big hits. At the time, ...

, best known as radio programmer for radio station CKLW in Windsor. In 2017, Denis became the first female broadcaster to receive the Allan Waters Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at

during the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards in Toronto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Marilyn 1958 births Living people American radio personalities American television talk show hosts Canadian radio hosts Canadian television talk show hosts People from Edmonton Radio personalities from Pittsburgh University of Idaho alumni Canadian women television personalities CTV Television Network people Canadian women radio hosts