Kari Elizabeth Byron (born December 18, 1974) is an American television host, best known for her role on the ''
MythBusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
'' and ''
White Rabbit Project
White Rabbit is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and other partners from universities and industry to develop a fully deterministic Ethernet-based network for general purpose data tra ...
'' series.
Early life
Byron was born in the
Bay Area, California
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, San Pablo Bay, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuary, estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is de ...
. She graduated from
Los Gatos High School
Los Gatos High School (LGHS) is a high school in Los Gatos, California. It was founded in 1908 and is part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, which in 2021 was ranked the best high school district in Caliifornia
The sch ...
in
Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...
, and studied at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
, graduating in May 1998 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in film and sculpture.
She spent the following year backpacking, primarily in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, and was involved in a number of art projects.
Career
''MythBusters''
Byron was a cast member on ''
MythBusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
'' from 2004 to 2014. Along with fellow cast members
Tory Belleci
Salvatore "Tory" Paul Belleci (born October 30, 1970) is an American television personality and model maker, best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program ''MythBusters''. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on ...
and
Grant Imahara
Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series '' MythBusters'', on which he designed and built numero ...
she was part of what is commonly referred to as "The Build Team" or B Team. This Build Team worked with
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel televisi ...
and
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman (born September 25, 1956) is an American special effects expert who is best known as the former co-host of the television series '' MythBusters'' alongside Adam Savage, where he became known for his distinctive beret and ...
to test the plausibility of various myths throughout their tenure with the show. She and the others also hosted their own segments. She became involved in the show after persistently showing up at Hyneman's
M5 Industries
M5 Industries (M5) is a special effects company located in San Francisco, California, best known as the working lab of the TV series ''MythBusters''. Founded in 1997 by Jamie Hyneman, it specialized in producing props for movies and television. ...
workshop in a desire to get hired by his company. She and the other Build Team members were given a more prominent role beginning with the show's second season. Not having had a long history in show business, Byron at first found it difficult to act naturally with this more visible position but gradually became more accustomed to it.
During the second half of the 2009 season, Byron was on
maternity leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...
and was temporarily replaced by
Jessi Combs
Jessica Combs (July 27, 1980 – August 27, 2019) was an American professional racer, television personality, and metal fabricator. She set a women's land speed class record (four wheels) in 2013 and broke her own record in 2016. She was kno ...
. From 2010–2011, Byron had her own show, ''
Head Rush'', on the Science Channel, geared toward science education and teens.
Byron has also hosted the 2010 and 2011 editions of ''Large, Dangerous Rocket Ships'' for the Science Channel. She and Belleci made a guest appearance on the October 3, 2012, episode of the Discovery series ''
Sons of Guns
''Sons of Guns'' is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom firearms to law enforcement, se ...
''. They test-fired some of the weapons in the Red Jacket shop and watched as the staff re-tested a myth previously busted by the Build Team: that a
propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
tank could explode if struck by a bullet. She left the show in 2014.
Byron and Belleci hosted coverage of ''
Pumpkin Chunkin'' on the
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
from 2011 to 2014. In 2015, Byron and Belleci hosted ''Thrill Factor'', a new show for the
Travel Channel
Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...
.
''White Rabbit Project''
Byron, along with Imahara and Belleci, hosted the Netflix production ''
White Rabbit Project
White Rabbit is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and other partners from universities and industry to develop a fully deterministic Ethernet-based network for general purpose data tra ...
'', released on Netflix on December 9, 2016. The series focused on unusual aspects from history and pop culture.
''Crash Test World''
Byron is currently host of the series ''
Crash Test World''. The first season of six episodes aired on
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
starting January 8, 2021.
''EXPLR Media''
Byron is currently the co-founder of EXPLR Media, an education streaming service. "I want our audience to be able to look at every show that we do and find somebody that looks like them." (Byron)
Personal life
Byron married artist
Paul Urich
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
in March 2006. They have a daughter. On June 26, 2019, Byron petitioned for separation from Urich and their marriage was dissolved on March 20, 2020.
She was previously a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
, but now describes herself as
pescetarian
Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...
.
Byron continues to create art, including paintings created by igniting gunpowder. In 2018 she published a memoir ''Crash Test Girl'', with HarperOne. Byron is credited with creating the original cover art, and providing interior art, for ''canvas: poems'' (Viewless Wings Press, 2021), using the black powder technique.
In ''Crash Test Girl'', Byron states she has "contended with severe bouts of
depression" since she was twelve. She states she has depressive episodes "a few times a year"; in addition, she had
postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and cha ...
, more severe than her normal depression, for six months after her daughter was born.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, Kari
1974 births
Living people
Television personalities from San Francisco
San Francisco State University alumni
People from Los Gatos, California