Syma Chowdhry is an award-winning television host, reporter, producer, news writer, model and actress. In January 2011, she became the news anchor for the program First Forecast Mornings seen daily on Detroit television station WWJ-TV

WWJ-TV

WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....

 and, as of February 7, 2011, on sister-station CW50. Previously, she was the host and producer of "JersEtainment" on News 12 New Jersey

News 12 New Jersey

News 12 New Jersey is a 24-hour cable news television channel reaching more than 1.8 million television homes within the New York City metropolitan area. The channel operates as an independent unit of News 12 Networks, the first, largest and most watched regional news network in United States...

 for which she won a 2008 Telly Award in the entertainment category. Her reports have included covering American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 auditions and the Russian invasion of Georgia

2008 South Ossetia war

The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

. She also reports and produces for E-Asylum, on The University Network, covering red-carpet premiers and film junkets across the country. Syma is also a freelance reporter for the pet lovers' social network and pet news website zootoo.com.

Syma has modeled for The Rachael Ray Show

Rachael Ray (TV series)

Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....

, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, Pfizer

Pfizer

Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...

 and numerous print material, has appeared on Style Network

Style Network

The Style Network is an American cable television network based in Los Angeles.Owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric and Comcast, its sister channels include E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, Syfy, G4, Golf Channel, and Versus, among others.-Network Overview:Style's...

 and has appeared several times as an extra on Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

. She also hosted NYC-TV's show "Gigs" and ImaginAsianTV's "Pulse."

Pre-professional Life

Syma Chowdhry was born on Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Her father is from Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and her mother is from Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Syma and her family moved to the New Jersey shore when she was 3-years-old. Syma grew up in Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...

 and attended Toms River High School North

Toms River High School North

Toms River High School North is a four-year public high school, and was the second high school established in Toms River, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Toms River Regional Schools. The school opened in 1969 when the original high school was found to be too...

, where she was actively involved in student leadership. While in high school, she came on the national pageant scene by winning New Jersey's Perfect Teen.

While at Toms River High School North, she also began her career as a TV show host by hosting a local entertainment show on the former Adelphia Cable channel. She then attended Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

, studying broadcast journalism

Broadcast journalism

Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...

. After college, she was hired by News 14 Carolina

News 14 Carolina

News 14 Carolina is a 24-hour cable news service offered in North Carolina, USA, by Time Warner Cable on its cable TV systems in the state. There are News 14 Carolina television channels in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Wilmington each primarily with local news but some local programming...

 in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

 to develop and produce web content and be a features reporter.

Pageant Life

Syma competed in several pageants. In 2002, she competed in the Miss New Jersey

Miss New Jersey

.The Miss New Jersey competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to become Miss America titleholders: Bette Cooper and Suzette Charles...

 2002 pageant, finishing as 3rd runner up. Also that year, she placed 1st runner up in the Miss Pennsylvania USA

Miss Pennsylvania USA

The Miss Pennsylvania USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss USA pageant.Michele McDonald is Pennsylvania's only Miss USA so far. At only eighteen, she was one of the youngest competitors ever to win the crown...

pageant. In January 2003, she won the title of Miss Central Coast, qualifying again for Miss New Jersey.