Ryan Seacrest Biography
Ryan Seacrest is an American Emmy Award -wining producer, philanthropist radio and television personality and game show host. He is best known for being a host on the ABC show American Idol. The show will be airing its twenty second season at 7 p.m. MST on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Ryan Seacrest Career
At the age of 14, he enrolled in Dunwoody High School, and by 16, while still attending high school, he secured an internship at WSTR in Atlanta. Under the mentorship of Tom Sullivan, he received training in various aspects of radio. His broadcasting career commenced when a regular DJ was unavailable, and Sullivan entrusted him with the first show on air. This opportunity led to him being assigned the weekend overnight shift at WSTR. He continued his on-air work at WSTR until graduating from Dunwoody High in 1992. In the fall of 1992, he pursued journalism studies at the University of Georgia. During this time, he maintained his radio show at a local station in Athens, Georgia. However, he decided to leave the university at the age of 19 and relocated to Los Angeles to further pursue his broadcasting career. In 1993, he hosted the inaugural season of ESPN’s Radical Outdoor Challenge.
Over the years, he also hosted three kids’ game shows: Gladiators 2000 from 1994 to 1996 (a spinoff of the TV show American Gladiators), Wild Animal Games in 1995, and Click in 1997. He even appeared as the host of the fictional game show Lover’s Lane on Beverly Hills, 90210 in “The Final Proof.” During the fall and winter of 2000, he took on the role of hosting The NBC Saturday Night Movie. In between commercial breaks, he provided trivia about the film and offered viewers a chance to win prizes by answering online on NBCi. In 2001, he ventured into reality television by hosting Ultimate Revenge, a program featuring elaborate practical jokes played on family and friends, instigated by their own relatives and friends. The show aired on TNN from 2001 to 2003.
In January 2006, the US cable channel E! announced a three-year, $21 million deal for Seacrest to host various programs, including E! News and coverage of red carpet awards shows. This marked a significant partnership between Seacrest and E! for multiple programs. In April 2012, he expanded his on-air role beyond E! through a deal with NBCUniversal. This agreement allowed him to contribute to a wide range of NBC programs, including the Today Show, Olympics coverage, entertainment programming, news, and other special events. Despite this expansion, he retained his role as the managing editor of E! News and continued to host and produce red-carpet awards show coverage for the network. In September 2012, he departed from E! News, and Terrence J took over as his replacement. During the 2012 London Olympic Games, he served as an NBC correspondent and co-hosted the closing ceremony alongside Bob Costas and Al Michaels.
In 2016, he hosted NBC’s live late-night coverage of the Rio Olympic Games. After a year-long search, it was announced on May 1, 2017, that Seacrest would join Kelly Ripa. He would be serving as the new permanent co-host and executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan, succeeding Michael Strahan. He officially started his role on the day of the announcement, and by December 2017, the show was averaging over 3 million viewers. However, on February 16, 2023, he announced his departure from Live with Kelly and Ryan after six years, with his last appearance as a full-time host on April 14, 2023. This decision was primarily attributed to the challenges of commuting. This is because his primary residence is in Los Angeles, while the show tapes in New York City. Mark Consuelos, the husband of Kelly Ripa, took over as the full-time host on April 17, 2023.
He clarified that although he was stepping down as a full-time host, he would return as a guest host whenever Consuelos was unavailable, emphasizing that he was not permanently leaving the show. In 2013, Seacrest hosted The Million Second Quiz, an interactive game show on NBC. Additionally, in 2015, he also hosted Knock Knock Live on Fox, a show where celebrities surprised ordinary people who had done something special, giving them prizes. However, the show was canceled after just two episodes. In January 2004, he took over as the new host of the radio program American Top 40, a syndicated weekly countdown show that was originally created and hosted by Casey Kasem. The show was syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. Additionally, in February 2004, he became the host of the morning show on Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, replacing long-time host Rick Dees.
The show, titled On Air With Ryan Seacrest, has been broadcast from a studio at the facilities of WABC-TV in New York City since 2017, where Live with Kelly and Ryan is produced. He renewed his contract with Premiere and KIIS parent company iHeartMedia in September 2021, extending the agreement through the end of 2025. In 2018, he was inducted into the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s 16th Annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts. His three-year hosting deal with E! included executive producing credits on various programs, such as E! News and its red carpet awards show coverages. In the same year, 2006, he launched Ryan Seacrest Productions (RSP), naming his longtime William Morris agent, Adam Sher, as CEO in August 2008. Until 2012, Comcast had first-look rights for all RSP shows.
Clear Channel acquired a minority stake in RSP in early 2012, but RSP no longer has a first-look deal with any network. Although he remains the managing editor of E! News and executive produces its red carpet awards show coverage, he no longer hosts E! News on a daily basis since January 2012. An Associated Press profile portrayed him as using both the deal with E! and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve as springboards to a long-lasting career in television production and ownership. His production company, RSP, has produced several successful series, including Keeping Up with the Kardashians (the highest-rated show on the E! network) and its spin-offs Khloe and Lamar, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami. RSP also produced the Emmy Award-winning ABC reality series Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.
In 2012, RSP launched two new reality series, Melissa and Tye on CMT and Shahs of Sunset for Bravo. Additionally, Married to Jonas premiered on August 19, 2012, on E! and was renewed for a second season. On January 31, 2012, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital announced their investment of up to $300 million in RSMedia. He, along with partners AEG and CAA, agreed to rebrand Mark Cuban’s HDNet television network as AXS TV. In 2017, he signed a multi-year overall deal between Ryan Seacrest Productions and ABC Studios, where the company’s scripted division would exclusively develop scripted projects for ABC Studios. In 2018, he joined the Paley Center for Media’s Board of Trustees.
Ryan Seacrest Salary
Seacrest earns an annual salary of about $98,000-$150,000.
Ryan Seacrest Net Worth
Seacrest has an estimated net worth of about $400 Million – $450 Million which he has earned through his career as a host.
Ryan Seacrest Age
Seacrest was born on December 24, 1974, in Dunwoody, Georgia, United States. He is 50 years old as of 2024, and he celebrates his birthday on the 24th of December every year.
Ryan Seacrest Height and Weight
Seacrest stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches tall however, information about his weight has not been disclosed.
Ryan Seacrest Family
Seacrest is the son of Gary Lee Seacrest, a real estate lawyer and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and Constance Marie. His grandfather, Henry Gene Skeen was a major general in the U.S. Army.
Ryan Seacrest Wife and Children
Seacrest has been romantically involved in various relationships over the years. His two-year on-and-off relationship with model Sara Jean Underwood was disclosed on The Howard Stern Show in 2009. Following that, he started dating dancer and actress Julianne Hough in April 2010, but their relationship came to an end in March 2013. Subsequently, he entered into a relationship with model Shayna Taylor in 2017, which lasted until 2020. He resides in Los Angeles together with his family.
Philanthropy
In 2010, Seacrest launched the nonprofit Ryan Seacrest Foundation. The foundation has established fourteen Seacrest Studios at various children’s hospitals across the United States. Some of them include; Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2010), Children’s Hospital of Orange County (2013), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2011), Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC (2015), Levine Children’s Hospital (2013), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2013), Children’s Medical Center Dallas (2012), Boston Children’s Hospital (2014), Children’s Hospital Colorado (2014), Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Tennessee (2016), Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Florida (2020), Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Tennessee (2023 May), Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York (2023 September), and Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah (2023 December). Although there was reportedly a location at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, it isn’t included in the Foundation’s map in 2023.
In April 2012, he appointed Selena Gomez as the Ambassador of the Foundation. In February 2017, the foundation partnered with the Atlanta Braves to promote the non-profit at SunTrust Park, with him providing voiceovers for the Braves’ “Welcome Home” broadcast media campaign. Beyond his foundation, he serves on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is an honorary co-chair of the GRAMMY Foundation board, which later merged with the GRAMMY Museum and became the GRAMMY Museum Foundation. Before Georgia’s special election in 2018, Seacrest, a Georgia native, urged voters in the state to visit the VoteRider’s site or contact the nonpartisan voter advocacy organization’s helpline to find out what ID is required to vote.
New Year’s Rockin’ Eve
In August 2005, Seacrest was announced as the executive producer and co-host of ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. On December 31, 2005, he assumed much of the hosting duties for the show, as Dick Clark’s role was limited due to speech and mobility issues from his recovery after a stroke. He occasionally served as a substitute host on CNN’s Larry King Live and co-emceed Larry King’s final show with Bill Maher on December 16, 2010. In 2009, ABC rebranded the program as Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest, reflecting his significant role. Co-hosting the show, he contributed to ABC’s most-watched New Year’s Eve broadcast in twelve years, attracting 22.8 million viewers. After Dick Clark’s passing, Seacrest publicly remembered his mentor’s impact on his life in a special tribute in The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2013, following Clark’s death, he hosted the edition of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with co-hosts Jenny McCarthy and Fergie, paying tribute to Dick Clark in the pre-show. In October 2013, he signed a multi-year contract extension with Dick Clark Productions to continue as the host and executive producer of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. He hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for the 13th consecutive year alongside Jenny McCarthy in 2017, resulting in the highest viewership in six years with 25.6 million viewers. The 2019–20 edition marked his 15th consecutive year as the host, with Lucy Hale also co-hosting. Furthermore, he recently received a multi-year deal extension to continue hosting the show.
American Idol
In 2002, Seacrest accepted the co-host position alongside comedian Brian Dunkleman on the new Fox reality television series American Idol. By the following year, he became the sole host as the show soared in popularity, reaching approximately 26 million viewers weekly and making him a globally recognizable figure. In 2003, he also hosted the spin-off show, American Juniors. In July 2009, he signed a lucrative deal with CKX for $45 million to continue hosting American Idol, making him the highest-paid reality television host at the time. He later signed a two-year $30 million deal in April 2012 to extend his role on the show. In May 2014, reports indicated a one-year deal with the option for another year. He remained the host until the conclusion of the series in April 2016.
Following the series’ end, ABC won a multi-network bidding war for the rights to American Idol, and on July 20, 2017, he announced on Live with Kelly & Ryan that he would host the Idol reboot. His initial multi-year deal for the reboot was reported to be worth over $10 million.
Wheel of Fortune
On June 27, 2023, The New York Times reported that Seacrest would take over as the host of Wheel of Fortune, succeeding the departing Pat Sajak. He was slated to begin hosting the show with its 42nd season in the fall of 2024. The information was attributed to “two people familiar with the plan.” Later, both Seacrest and Sony officially confirmed the news in separate releases.
Social Media Platform
Seacrest is very active on his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. He has 14.3M followers on Twitter 6.6M followers on Instagram and 1.6M followers on Facebook.