Samantha Elizabeth Brown (born March 31, 1970)
is an American
television host
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...
, notable for her work as the host of several
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 ...
shows including ''Girl Meets Hawaii'', ''Great Vacation Homes'', ''
Great Hotels
''Great Hotels'' is a television show on the Travel Channel. The show, hosted by Samantha Brown, travels around the United States to show some of its most renowned hotels. Brown stays at the hotel and walks the viewer through the layout, the room ...
'', ''
Passport to Europe'', ''
Passport to Latin America'', ''Great Weekends'', ''Green Getaways'', ''Passport to China'', and ''Samantha Brown's Asia''. As of 2012 Samantha Brown has made her own travel luggage called Samantha Brown: Travel America. She has visited 62 countries. In January 2018, she began hosting ''Samantha Brown's Places to Love'' on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
. It is shown on PBS stations nationwide and is on the PBS website and app.
She is currently a resident of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York.
Early life
Brown was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, in 1970, but her family soon moved to
New Castle, New Hampshire
New Castle is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest and easternmost town in New Hampshire, and the only one loc ...
, where she grew up and graduated from
Pinkerton Academy
Pinkerton Academy is a secondary school in Derry, New Hampshire, United States. It serves roughly 3,269 students, making it by far the largest high school in New Hampshire, more than 1,300 students greater than the next largest high school. Pi ...
in
Derry, New Hampshire
Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...
.
She performed with Music and Drama Company with award-winning designer
Brian Sidney Bembridge
Brian Sidney Bembridge (born 1973) is an American scenic, lighting, and costume designer for theater and film. His work has been seen on stages and screens throughout the country and Internationally in Australia, Germany, Prague, Ireland, and ...
; took 12 years of voice lessons; attended
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...
, and transferred to
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
to study musical theater. As stated in one of her episodes in ''
Passport to Europe'', she is of
Scottish and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
descent.
Commercials
Brown's early career included working in commercials, notably playing the
spokesperson
A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.
Duties and function
In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
"Wendy Wire" for a company called Century Cable.
She
appeared in the ''HP Pavilion'' "Computer is Personal Again" commercials.
Additionally, she is the spokesperson for ECCO shoes. and was also a spokesperson in a 2009 commercial for
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
amusement park. She is involved in the
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
sketch group "Mouth", based in New York, where she has lived for over 12 years.
Travel Channel
In 1999 and 2000, 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 ...
was looking for a travel host, and Brown was chosen after a series of auditions. In her role of host, she introduces viewers to
vacation
A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...
destinations and
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
s in the United States and around the world, as well as showcasing restaurants and activities at those destinations. As a travel host, Brown travels 230 days out of the year and takes eight days to film an hour-long episode.
Since joining the network, Brown has hosted several series including ''Girl Meets Hawaii'', ''Great Vacation Homes'', ''
Great Hotels
''Great Hotels'' is a television show on the Travel Channel. The show, hosted by Samantha Brown, travels around the United States to show some of its most renowned hotels. Brown stays at the hotel and walks the viewer through the layout, the room ...
'', ''
Passport to Europe'', ''Passport to Great Weekends'', and ''
Passport to Latin America''.
![SamanthaBrown1SDMar2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/SamanthaBrown1SDMar2014.JPG)
In addition to her regular shows, Brown hosted several Travel Channel specials, such as the 2006 all-access special ''Great Cruises: Freedom of the Seas with Samantha Brown'' aboard the ''
Freedom of the Seas
Freedom of the seas ( la, mare liberum, lit. "free sea") is a principle in the law of the sea. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans. It also disapproves of war fought in water. The freedom is to be breached only in a necessary inter ...
'' cruise ship, the largest passenger ship in the world at the time of its launch. Prior to that, she hosted a 12-night Mediterranean Venice cruise aboard the ''Brilliance of the Seas'' cruise ship. The accompanying show was titled ''Samantha Brown's First Cruise''. In 2007, she hosted a special titled ''Passport to Green Getaways'', a travelogue to three eco-friendly destinations in North America.
In 2007, Brown had two shows in production. In April 2007, Discovery Networks announced that she would host a new series titled ''Passport to Great Weekends ... With Samantha Brown'' featuring Brown exploring 48-hour vacation locations in the US and abroad. In September 2007, she was in Beijing, filming ''Passport to China'', which aired in July 2008, just ahead of the
Beijing Olympics.
In 2008, Brown debuted ''Passport to Great Weekends'', which showcased her in a more informal light as well as following her on more unique, off-the-beaten-path vacations. Episodes would follow the format of her arrival at a destination on a Friday afternoon and conclude with her leaving on Sunday evening. The second season's title was changed to ''Samantha Brown's Great Weekends'' and featured a new introduction, but mostly the same format.
On February 8, 2010, the Travel Channel presented ''Samantha Brown's 10th Anniversary Special'' to commemorate Brown's ten years as host.
On April 9, 2010, she made a special guest appearance on ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'' to present a travel-themed showcase.
On July 12, 2010, ''Samantha Brown's Asia'' was released on the Travel Channel.
In Anthony Bourdain's "Christmas Special" episode of ''No Reservations'', first aired in the U.S. on December 12, 2011, Samantha Brown appeared in a segment that satirized both her persona and the supposed conflict between the "perky" Brown and the "edgy" Bourdain. In the same month, more in keeping with her wholesome "girl next door" image, Brown hosted a video tour of the new Disney resort in Hawaii, which was produced and released by Disney to promote the Disney Vacation Club.In the summer of 2013, Samantha shot a new pilot for the Travel Channel in the Yellowstone area but Brown tweeted at the time that she could not talk about it for fear of jinxing the project. The project later proved to be two sample episodes of ''Samantha Brown's Cash Attack'', a travel-related game show.
Brown ambushed tourists in popular travel destinations and gave them an opportunity to win cash by answering questions related to the area and/or performing travel challenges. The two episodes aired on November 26, 2013.
Brown served as a co-host of ''The Trip: 2014'', a sweepstakes event that took viewers on a trip through Spain and Morocco.
Brown was also a co-host for ''The Trip: 2015'' in Hawaii, which originally aired in February 2015. She was seen in the Travel Channel series ''50/50'' with co-host
Chris Grundy in 2015 and ''Track Down Samantha Brown''.
PBS
In the summer of 2017, Brown left the Travel Channel and later started filming a new series for PBS, ''Samantha Brown's Places to Love''. According to PBS, the series, first airing on January 6, 2018, features Brown seeking out "the little known spots and haunts where innovators and disrupters are creating a brand new travel experience. Whether it's food and drink, art and design, culture or adventure, at the end of each episode viewers will have a well curated list of experiences that focus on not just how to visit a destination but how to belong to it." In March 2019, ''Samantha Brown's Places to Love'' received three Daytime Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Travel/Adventure Program, Outstanding Directing in a Lifestyle Program, and Outstanding Host in a Lifestyle Program. On May 3, 2019, ''Samantha Brown's Places to Love'' won the Emmy for Outstanding Travel/Adventure Program and Brown won the Emmy for Outstanding Host. On February 11, 2020, Brown announced on Facebook that ''Samantha Brown's Places to Love'' was beginning production on Season 4.
Personal life
On 28 October 2006, she married husband, Kevin James O’Leary.
On 17 January 2013, she and husband Kevin O'Leary welcomed twins, a son, Ellis James, and a daughter, Elizabeth Mae, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
References
External links
Travel Channel :: Samantha Brown*
Samantha Brown's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Samantha
1970 births
Living people
American people of German descent
American people of Scottish descent
People from Dallas
People from Derry, New Hampshire
Chapman University alumni
Syracuse University alumni
American stage actresses
Television personalities from New York City
American women television personalities
People from New Castle, New Hampshire
People from Brooklyn
Pinkerton Academy alumni
21st-century American women