Jeannie Mai-Jenkins (born Jeannie Camtu Mai) is an American television host and stylist 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 the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability. In ...

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

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'', '' 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 Para ...

'', and ''

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

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

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

pageant. She is currently a sideline reporter on ''

Holey Moley ''Holey Moley'' is an American sports entertainment, sports reality competition television series created for American Broadcasting Company, ABC by Chris Culvenor. The series is produced by Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media, with Culvenor, ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Early life

Jeannie Mai was born and raised in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, to a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

mother named Olivia and a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

father named James. She attended

Milpitas High School Milpitas High School (MHS) is a public four-year comprehensive high school in Milpitas, California, a suburban community north of San Jose. It is one of two high schools within the Milpitas Unified School District. As of 2013, Milpitas High Scho ...

Career

1997–2004

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

MAC Cosmetics MAC Cosmetics, stylized as M·A·C, is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto, Canada in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company is headquartered in New York City after becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies i ...

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. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

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

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'',

KCAL The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

Los Angeles, and ''

Good Day Sacramento KMAX-TV (channel 31) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside Stockton-licensed CBS owned-and-operated station KOVR (channel 13). Both ...

''. 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 Stir, STIR, stirred, or stirrer may refer to: Art and entertainment * Stir (band), a music group from 1994-2005 * Stir (film), ''Stir'' (film), a 1980 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace * Stir (TV series), ''Stir'' (TV series) * "Stirred" ...

'', on the International Channel. Later, the San Francisco-based

California Music Channel ''California Music Channel'' (CMC)United States Patent and Trademark Office IC 035, 038, 041 is an American music video broadcast television network based in the San Francisco Bay Area.Billboard, September 5, 1987 p. 57 It is one of the longest ...

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 (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, 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 Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...

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 Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

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 Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or " Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, i ...

''. 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'', ''Sa ...

. 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 NBC weight-loss competition ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...

''. 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 The first cycle of the reality television show ''Asia's Next Top Model'' in which a number of women compete for the title and a chance to begin their career in the modeling industry. The show features aspiring models from the entire Asia-Pacifi ...

''.

2013–present

In 2013, Mai was 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. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashio ...

. Since 2013, Mai has served as a co-host of the syndicated daytime talk show ''

'', originally alongside

Adrienne Bailon Adrienne Eliza Bailon-Houghton ( née Bailon () ; born October 24, 1983) is an American television personality, singer, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls. From 2013 to 2022, Bailon was a co-host o ...

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer 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 released their debut a ...

Loni Love Loni Love (born July 14, 1971) is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer. While working as an electrical engineer in the early 2000s, she switched to music engineering, until later launching a caree ...

, and

Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite he ...

, which premiered on July 15, 2013. Following a trial summer run during 2013 on the

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Corp ...

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 The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host is an award annually presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 42nd D ...

for their work. In 2015, Mai was host of the reality competition '' Steampunk'd'' on GSN. She also was a fashion correspondent on ''

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

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

network. The following year, she portrayed Lady Luck on the American game show ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...

''. 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. On September 2, 2020, Mai was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the 29th season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. She was forced to exit the show on November 2, 2020, after being diagnosed with

epiglottitis Epiglottitis is the inflammation of the epiglottis—the flap at the base of the tongue that prevents food entering the trachea (windpipe). Symptoms are usually rapid in onset and include trouble swallowing which can result in drooling, changes t ...

, an inflammatory condition that can cause swelling and block airflow to the lungs. On October 18, 2022, she was announced as host of '' America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation'', which premiered on December 9, 2022.

Personal life

Mai is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. She married Freddy Harteis on August 11, 2007; the couple divorced in December 2018. In November 2018, Mai started dating rapper Jay "

Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

" Jenkins. The couple married in 2021 in an intimate ceremony at their home in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In January 2022, the couple announced that she had given birth to a daughter.

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