Melissa Rivers
Encyclopedia
Melissa Joan Rivers is an American television host, producer and the daughter of Joan Rivers
.
and Edgar Rosenberg
. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her mother's side and German-Jewish on her father's side.
Rivers attended the private John Thomas Dye School
in Bel-Air and then The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. She is a 1989 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
. She was a founding member of the Tabard Society, an off-campus secret society for women.
After five years of dating, Rivers married horse trainer John Endicott in December 1998 at the Manhattan, New York Park Hotel
in an extravagant $3 million dollar Dr Zhivago-themed winter wonderland wedding. They divorced in 2003.
She has one son named Cooper (born in 2000 Edgar Cooper Endicott) who features with Rivers and her mother in the reality show "Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?"
Rivers was an accomplished equestrienne competing on the show circuits. She was known to jump horses over 4-1/2 foot obstacles.
Rivers began her career as an intern in the Los Angeles office of CBS News after graduation. She was a feature reporter for “CBS This Morning”. She was a regular contributor to MTV’s Hangin’ With MTV as an MTV spring break emcee, and, in time, a broadcast journalist of youth-oriented material.
As an actress, she has had roles in television shows including Beverly Hills, 90210
, Silk Stalkings
, The Comeback
and The L Word
. In 1998, she also appeared in the sci-fi/comedy made-for-television movie Men in White ; and in the 1999 film The Big Tease; a comedy directed by Kevin Allen
starring Craig Ferguson
. Additionally, she teamed up with her mother Joan Rivers, portraying themselves in the 1994 celebrity docudrama Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story.
In the early 1990s, Rivers branched out on the pre-show red carpet, interviewing celebrities on nationally televised awards shows. Rivers, who has hosted various events and served as a producer for the E! Network, has hosted two of the channel’s highest-rated specials: Oh Baby! Melissa’s Guide to Pregnancy and Oh Toddler! Surviving the Early Years (aired in January 2002).
Teamed with her comedienne mother, Joan, Melissa hosted fashion on the red carpet interviews for the E!
cable network. In 2003, Melissa and Joan left her red carpet pre-show on E! to accept a more lucrative deal with the TV Guide Channel
valued at between $6 and 8 million. Their contract was not renewed after it expired. Also in 2002, Rivers appeared on the ABC Network competitive reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, in which she finished in second place. Melissa Rivers has been a regular guest on the webcast show Tom Green's House Tonight.
's 2006 television show "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!", LIVE.
On June 24, 2008, Rivers appeared on the NBC
game show Celebrity Family Feud
as part of the Rivers Family Team. She and her mother first battled against the Ice-T
Family Team, then went on to compete against the Raven Symone Family Team. They won $50,000 for their charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind
.
She appeared on the NBC reality television
program Celebrity Apprentice
playing for the Lili Claire Foundation. She was fired in the episode that aired April 26, 2009 after which she stormed out of the boardroom, verbally assaulted other teammates, yelled at the production crew, and refused the obligatory exit interview. Her mother was also a contestant on that season of The Apprentice, and threatened to quit the show after Melissa's firing, but remained and ultimately won the competition .
Rivers raised $22,250 on a special celebrity edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
" where all the celebrities played to raise money for the research of Alzheimer's disease
.
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
.
Early life
Rivers was born Melissa Warburg Rosenberg in Manhattan on January 20, 1968; the only child of Joan RiversJoan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
and Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg was an American television producer. Born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, to German Jewish parents, Otto & Lilli, the Rosenberg family migrated to America in 1940, due to the Outbreak of World War II. Rosenberg married comedian and commentator Joan Rivers and was the father of Melissa...
. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her mother's side and German-Jewish on her father's side.
Rivers attended the private John Thomas Dye School
John Thomas Dye School
The John Thomas Dye School, nicknamed JTD, is an independent private coeducational nonsectarian elementary day school located in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, California, serving students in kindergarten through sixth grade....
in Bel-Air and then The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. She is a 1989 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. She was a founding member of the Tabard Society, an off-campus secret society for women.
After five years of dating, Rivers married horse trainer John Endicott in December 1998 at the Manhattan, New York Park Hotel
Park Hotel
Park Hotel , is a famous hotel on Nanjing Road overlooking Renmin Park in Shanghai, China.-History:Built in 1934, a prime example of Art Deco architecture designed by the Hungarian architect Ladislav Hudec...
in an extravagant $3 million dollar Dr Zhivago-themed winter wonderland wedding. They divorced in 2003.
She has one son named Cooper (born in 2000 Edgar Cooper Endicott) who features with Rivers and her mother in the reality show "Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?"
Career
In 1990, Melissa took on her mother's stage surname.Rivers was an accomplished equestrienne competing on the show circuits. She was known to jump horses over 4-1/2 foot obstacles.
Rivers began her career as an intern in the Los Angeles office of CBS News after graduation. She was a feature reporter for “CBS This Morning”. She was a regular contributor to MTV’s Hangin’ With MTV as an MTV spring break emcee, and, in time, a broadcast journalist of youth-oriented material.
As an actress, she has had roles in television shows including Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
, The Comeback
The Comeback (TV series)
The Comeback is a television series produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California. It was created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, a former executive producer of Sex and the City...
and The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
. In 1998, she also appeared in the sci-fi/comedy made-for-television movie Men in White ; and in the 1999 film The Big Tease; a comedy directed by Kevin Allen
Kevin Allen
Kevin Allen may refer to:* Kevin Allen , Welsh-born English actor* Kevin Allen , American football player* Kevin Allen , American race car driver...
starring Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS...
. Additionally, she teamed up with her mother Joan Rivers, portraying themselves in the 1994 celebrity docudrama Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story.
In the early 1990s, Rivers branched out on the pre-show red carpet, interviewing celebrities on nationally televised awards shows. Rivers, who has hosted various events and served as a producer for the E! Network, has hosted two of the channel’s highest-rated specials: Oh Baby! Melissa’s Guide to Pregnancy and Oh Toddler! Surviving the Early Years (aired in January 2002).
Teamed with her comedienne mother, Joan, Melissa hosted fashion on the red carpet interviews for the E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
cable network. In 2003, Melissa and Joan left her red carpet pre-show on E! to accept a more lucrative deal with the TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Network is an American cable network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation....
valued at between $6 and 8 million. Their contract was not renewed after it expired. Also in 2002, Rivers appeared on the ABC Network competitive reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, in which she finished in second place. Melissa Rivers has been a regular guest on the webcast show Tom Green's House Tonight.
Charity
Rivers raised $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, resulting from ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 2006 television show "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!", LIVE.
On June 24, 2008, Rivers appeared on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
game show Celebrity Family Feud
Celebrity Family Feud
Celebrity Family Feud is a spin-off game show created by NBC, and hosted by television weather anchor Al Roker. The announcer was Burton Richardson. Celebrity Family Feud pitted two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100...
as part of the Rivers Family Team. She and her mother first battled against the Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
Family Team, then went on to compete against the Raven Symone Family Team. They won $50,000 for their charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Guide Dogs for the Blind is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 to help veterans who had been blinded in World War II.- History :...
.
She appeared on the NBC reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
program Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. Season 8)
The Celebrity Apprentice 2 is the eighth installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. It premiered on March 1, 2009. The Celebrity Apprentice 2 aired for two hours on Sundays at 9:00 Eastern time...
playing for the Lili Claire Foundation. She was fired in the episode that aired April 26, 2009 after which she stormed out of the boardroom, verbally assaulted other teammates, yelled at the production crew, and refused the obligatory exit interview. Her mother was also a contestant on that season of The Apprentice, and threatened to quit the show after Melissa's firing, but remained and ultimately won the competition .
Rivers raised $22,250 on a special celebrity edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
" where all the celebrities played to raise money for the research of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.