Nina Blackwood is an American

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who was the first of the original five

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 ...

VJs (along with

Mark Goodman Mark Goodman (born October 11, 1952) is an American radio host, TV personality and actor. He is best known as one of the original five video jockeys (VJs), along with Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, J. J. Jackson and Martha Quinn, on the music ...

, J. J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, and

Martha Quinn Martha Conrad Quinn (born May 11, 1959) is an American actress and Radio personality, radio and television personality, best known as one of the original video jockeys on MTV (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter (VJ), Alan Hunter ...

). She has been an actress and model.

Early life and career

Blackwood was born Nina Kinckiner in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Her father was in government service, and also taught

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

; he was never a minister, as has sometimes been reported. She grew up on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Rocky River High School, graduating in 1970. In high school, she sang and played keyboards in her high school sweetheart's band, and covered the song "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

." Before entering broadcasting, Blackwood appeared nude in the August 1978 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' pictorial "The Girls in the Office" as a brunette. She moved to California, and studied acting at the Strasberg Institute. Blackwood has acted in a number of TV show and films, making appearances in the movies ''

Vice Squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

'' (1982), ''

Reckless Kelly ''Reckless Kelly'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film produced, written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. It co-stars Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle and Hugo Weaving. The story is a satirical take on a modern-day Ned Kelly, a famous Australian ou ...

'' (1993), and ''I Crave Rock & Roll'' (1996).

MTV and other television appearances

She was chosen for MTV's original

video jockey A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, MuchMusic and Channel V. Origins The term "video jockey" come ...

lineup, along with

, Alan Hunter, and J. J. Jackson, when the network began airing in 1981. After leaving MTV in 1986, she hosted her own "Rock Report" for ''

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 ...

''. She also hosted the TV music show '' Solid Gold'' from 1986 to 1988. Blackwood has appeared on ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'', ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...

'', VH1,

The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

, and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Radio career

In 1999, Blackwood and long-time manager/producer

Danny Sheridan Danny Sheridan (October 11, 1950 – May 24, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter, producer, actor, and entertainment manager. In 2006 he also became a radio personality on 97.1 KLSX Free FM (CBS Los Angeles). He is credited as an influ ...

launched a nationally syndicated radio show for United Stations Radio Network titled ''Nina Blackwood's Absolutely 80's''. The two followed up with another nationally syndicated program, the 80's alternative-themed ''Nina Blackwood's New Wave Nation'' (which, as of 2014, was no longer being produced). Blackwood currently hosts a weekday show on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

The 80s on 8 '80s on 8 (also known as The Big '80s on 8) is a commercial-free, satellite radio station on Sirius XM Radio channel 8 and also Dish Network 6008. As a result of the Sirius/XM merger on November 12, 2008, the channel was merged with the Big '80s ...

'' from 11 to 2 Eastern. On weekends she co-hosts the Sirius XM Radio show ''The Big '80s Top 40 Countdown'' with other original MTV VJ's. She performed as part of the 2003 road company of ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

''.

In popular culture

Blackwood has said that the 1984

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

hit single " Missing You" was written about her and that Waite has confirmed it was about her and other women he had dated.

Personal life

Blackwood, who was briefly married to a man named Dennis and has no children, lives on a farm in coastal

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. A longtime animal lover, her farm acts as an animal sanctuary and is home to numerous dogs, cats, birds, horses and other creatures. Blackwood is known for her raspy voice, something she's had since she was a child, and has stated that it's gotten more pronounced as she has aged.

References

External links

* *
Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter interviewed on Stuck in the '80s podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwood, Nina Living people American film actresses American television actresses American radio DJs Actresses from Cleveland Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts Actresses from San Diego VJs (media personalities) American women radio presenters Rocky River High School (Ohio) alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)