Caroline Rhea

Infobox Actor

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birthdate = birth date and age|1964|4|13
birthplace = Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Caroline Gilchrist Rhea (born April 13, 1964) is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actress who is the original host of the reality show "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. She is also known for her role as Hilda on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", and for replacing Rosie O'Donnell as the hostess of her syndicated talk show, renamed "The Caroline Rhea Show".

Biography

Early life

Rhea was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Marjorie, an antiques dealer, and David Rhea, an obstetrician and gynecologist. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/31/Caroline-Rhea.html Caroline Rhea Biography (1964-) ] ] She has two sisters, Cynthia and Celia. She attended The Study, an all-girls private school in Westmount, Quebec. Rhea is fluent in English and French.

Her film debut was as a bikini-clad extra in the film Meatballs III, shot on location near Montreal. She moved to New York in 1989 to study stand-up comedy at the New School for Social Research.

Career

Rhea has said that her true training came from her first gigs at the comedy club Catch A Rising Star. Performing around New York City, she quickly gained a reputation, and a name in the city's competitive comedy scene. These performances were augmented with appearances on "MTV's Half-Hour Comedy Hour", "Comic Strip Live" and "Caroline's Comedy Hour". She decided to move to Los Angeles for a career in Hollywood, debuting in NBC television series "Pride & Joy" co-starring with Jeremy Piven. She gained most fame for her role as "Aunt Hilda" on the ABC and The WB's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", as well as being a regular on the latest incarnation of "Hollywood Squares", with Tom Bergeron and Whoopi Goldberg (in the center square).

In 2002, Rhea landed her own syndicated daytime talk show, "The Caroline Rhea Show". Rosie O'Donnell had hand-picked Rhea as her replacement. Rhea next went on to host the autumn series, "The Biggest Loser" on NBC, which was the first weight loss reality show in which overweight members of two teams try to lose the most weight, which began in 2004. Her show proved to be so popular in the first season, that "The Biggest Loser" would continue to air the show in around 70 countries, making Rhea a star phenomenon. She hosted the show for three seasons until NBC announced on February 20, 2007 that Rhea would not host "The Biggest Loser" any more, due to her returning to stand-up comedy; she was replaced by "Days of our Lives" star Alison Sweeney. In 2005, Rhea was in the movie "The Perfect Man", playing a co-worker of Jean (Heather Locklear).

She has appeared in "Comic Relief 8", as well as the Ms. Foundation's "Women of Comedy from Caroline's Comedy Club" (no relation to Rhea). She appeared as a contestant on a special edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". She had her own stand-up special as part of Bravo's three-part Funny Ladies series, along with Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone. Rhea has had a recurring role on the hit Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" as Ilsa Shickelgrubermeiger-Von Helsing der Keppelugerhofer, who is an inspector turned manager of the rival hotel. In the series, she is well known for a large mole on her cheek. She has appeared on Disney's "Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire" as well as "Christmas with the Kranks" in 2004. She has competed on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and GSN's "World Series of Blackjack".She now does the voice of Mom in "Phineas and Ferb", a new animated show with Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso, and Alyson Stoner. Rhea will next appear on the upcoming Fox animated series "Two Dreadful Children". Caroline Rhea also plays Noleta Nethercott on the TV series .

On Monday September 22, 2008 Caroline was presented the "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY" 6th Annual Relly Award for Funniest Guest of the Year beating out; Jerry Seinfeld, Jack Black, Michael Urie and Jessica Seinfeld. Caroline explained that her baby girl was due any day now and she would use the Relly Award Golden Stool as a tiny little high chair for the baby.

Personal life

Rhea and her longtime boyfriend, Costaki Economopoulos, are expecting their first child. On July 22, 2008 Rhea appeared on the talk show "Live with Regis and Kelly" and revealed that she is expecting a girl due in October 2008 [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20202691,00.html Teenage Witch Star Caroline Rhea Is Pregnant] ] .

ee also

*Humour of Quebec
*List of Quebec comedians

References

External links

* [http://www.carolinerhea.com CarolineRhea.com]
* [http://www.tv.com/caroline-rhea-show/show/5375/summary.html TV.com - The Caroline Rhea Show]
* [http://www.biggestloserclub.com Biggest Loser Club Official Site]
*imdb name|id=0005352|name=Caroline Rhea