Bianna Golodryga (born June 15, 1978^[1] in Moldova, former Soviet Union) is a Moldavan-American television journalist and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. Her family moved to Houston, Texas when she was about two years old.

She also serves as the business correspondent for the ABC News.^[2] She has been a correspondent for the network since 2007, and was named the new co-anchor of GMA Weekend in May 2010 following the departure of former co-anchor Kate Snow.^[3] She began her career in television as a producer at CNBC before becoming an on-air correspondent there. Prior to CNBC, she worked in the financial services industry.

In 2004, Golodryga was named one of the top journalists under the age of 30.^[4]

Personal life[link]

She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, with a degree in Russian/East European & Eurasian studies and a minor in economics.

She is married to Peter R. Orszag, the former budget director for the Obama Administration. They have a son, Jake Spencer Orszag, born on April 1, 2012.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bianna Golodryga at the Internet Movie Database

Rachel Smith

Beauty pageant titleholder
Rachel Smith at Miss USA 2007
Born	Rachel Renee Smith (1985-04-18) April 18, 1985 (age 27)  Panama
Agency	Greenwood Productions (State Titles) Miss Universe Organization (National Title)
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002 Miss Tennessee USA 2007 Miss USA 2007
Major competition(s)	Miss Teen USA 2002 (Top 10) Miss USA 2007 (Winner) Miss Universe 2007 (4th Runner-up)

Rachel Renee Smith (born April 18, 1985 in Panama) is an American beauty queen and television personality from Clarksville, Tennessee, who won the Miss USA pageant in 2007 ^[1] and who previously had competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Early life[link]

Rachel Smith at Los Angeles Pride 2011

Smith was born on a U.S. Army base in Panama. She lived in Clarksville after her parents were stationed to Fort Campbell.^[2] She is biracial, half African-American and half European-American. She attended Clarksville Academy and graduated from Davidson Academy for high school.

Smith graduated magna cum laude from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006 with a bachelor of science in journalism. Smith graduated a semester early, in December 2006. She received a full tuition scholarship to attend Belmont due to her community service activities and academic achievements throughout high school.^[3] While she was at Belmont, she interned in Chicago, Illinois, for eight months with Harpo Productions, a company owned by Oprah Winfrey. In January 2007, it was announced that she had been chosen by Winfrey to volunteer for one month at her Leadership Academy for Girls.^[4]

Pageants[link]

Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002[link]

Smith won her first major pageant title in 2001 when she was crowned Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002. This was her second attempt at the title, having placed third runner-up to Jessica Myers the previous year. Smith then competed in the nationally televised Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant at South Padre Island, Texas, where she placed in the top ten and won the Miss Photogenic award.^[5] Of the semi-finalists, Smith placed tenth in the swimsuit competition and seventh in evening gown, finishing ninth on average. The pageant was won by Vanessa Semrow of Wisconsin.

Miss Tennessee USA 2007[link]

On October 7, 2006, Smith became the fourth former Miss Tennessee Teen USA to win the Miss Tennessee USA title, following Molly Brown who held the 1984 teen and 1987 Miss titles, Lynnette Cole who held the 1995 teen and 2000 Miss titles and won Miss USA 2000 and Allison Alderson, who held the 1994 teen title and 2002 Miss title. She won the title in a state pageant held at Austin Peay State University in her home town of Clarksville.^[6] Her "sister" 2007 titleholder was Macy Erwin of Chattanooga, Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2007.

Smith is one of three delegates who placed in the final six in the Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002 pageant to later win consecutive Miss Tennessee USA crowns, after Amy Colley won the title in 2005 and Lauren Grissom won it in 2006. A fourth member of that top six was Brittany Swann, who placed second runner-up. One month after Smith won her title, Swann won the Miss Georgia USA 2007 title, and both competed against each other at the Miss USA 2007 pageant. Swann and Smith have the same directors, Greenwood Productions, which produce the Tennessee and Georgia state pageants.

Miss USA 2007[link]

Smith represented Tennessee in the Miss USA 2007 pageant^[7] on March 23, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California,^[1] where she became the second titleholder from Tennessee to win the Miss USA crown. Smith won both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions with consistently high scores. She was crowned by titleholder Tara Conner alongside whom she competed at Miss Teen USA 2002. Smith is the third consecutive former Miss Teen USA delegate to win the title.

Unusually, Smith won the pageant wearing the same evening gown that she wore to win her state title. She was the first titleholder to win in a non-neutral coloured evening gown since Kelli McCarty also won wearing a red gown in 1991.(2004 Shandi Finessey wore teal, but the bodice was sheer with rhinestone beading)

Miss Universe 2007[link]

As Miss USA, Smith represented the United States in the Miss Universe 2007 pageant held in Mexico City, Mexico, on May 28, 2007. She arrived in Mexico on May 1, and along with the 77 other delegates participated in weeks of events, rehearsals and preliminary competitions prior to the final telecast.

On May 20, Smith competed in the national costume competition dressed as Elvis Presley, a costume which reflected her home state of Tennessee. During her appearance she was loudly booed by the Mexican crowd, who were seen giving Smith the thumbs-down sign.

After competing in the preliminary competition, Smith made the top 15 during the pageant finals, where she placed sixth in swimsuit and advanced to the top ten. During the evening gown competition, Smith slipped and fell down before quickly getting back onto her feet. She was able to remain composed as she finished her walk, and placed fifth out of the ten delegates despite the fall.

Smith was again booed by the Mexican crowd after she was announced as part of the top five while the local representative from Mexico was not. This continued as Smith answered her final question, finishing by thanking the crowd in Spanish, which finally made the crowd cheer.^[8] She eventually placed fourth runner-up, equaling the placement of her predecessor Tara Conner at Miss Universe 2006.

The booing and jeering during the pageant was a repeat of a similar incident during Miss Universe 1993, also held in Mexico City, when Miss USA Kenya Moore was loudly booed.^[9] The audience reaction has been attributed to political issues between the two nations.

In August 2007, Mexican tourism officials apologized for the behavior of the audience and said that Smith is welcome back in Mexico any time.^[10]

Reign as Miss USA[link]

During her first week as Miss USA, Smith made a number of media appearances, such as The Today Show and Late Show with David Letterman, where she presented a "top ten" list entitled "Top Ten Things I Can Say Now That I'm Miss USA".^[11] She was also a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show where she talked about her experience working as an intern.

As Miss USA, Smith twice had the opportunity to ring the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange, first on April 24, and then on June 7 with Miss Universe Riyo Mori.

Following a Black Music Month event at the White House, Smith and other entertainers are thanked by President George W. Bush

USO Tour

Smith and Hilary Cruz signing autographs at the Kadena Air Base in Japan

In early June, Smith travelled to Kenya to volunteer for Project Sunshine. On returning to the United States, she was present at an event at the White House celebrating Black Music month, where she introduced President George W. Bush to the audience. She then travelled to Chicago to attend the CONCACAF Gold Cup final between Mexico and the United States, which lead to further discussion in the media over the treatment she received from the Mexican audience at Miss Universe.

In late November, Smith rode a float in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, following previous Miss USA titleholders since Susie Castillo in 2003.

In December 2007, she traveled to Kuwait, Iraq and Naval Station Rota Spain on a USO tour along with Kid Rock, Robin Williams, Lewis Black and Lance Armstrong.

Smith appeared on the cover and in an editorial spread in the March/April 2008 issue of Supermodels Unlimited magazine, photographed by Kevin Michael Reed. On April 11, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Smith crowned Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas, as Miss USA 2008. This was the first time that two women of Black descent had been crowned Miss USA consecutively.^[12][13] Rachel also appeared on the magazine cover and in an interview for the May/June 2011 issue of Select Magazine.^[14]

Television[link]

Smith starred in Donald Trump's MTV reality show Pageant Place along with Riyo Mori (Miss Universe 2007), Tara Conner (former Miss USA 2006), Katie Blair (former Miss Teen USA 2006) and Hilary Cruz (Miss Teen USA 2007). The show was first broadcast on October 10, 2007.

In August, 2010, she appeared on a special "Girls of Summer" week airing of NBC's Minute to Win It on an episode called "Last Beauty Standing." The episode featured 10 beauty pageant winners competing for $100,000 towards their chosen charities along with a chance to win a $1,000,000 challenge.

She worked as a reporter for E!, but currently co-hosts ABC's nationally-syndicated entertainment show OnTheRedCarpet.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rachel Smith

• Official Website

Marysol Castro
Castro at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	(1976-09-29) September 29, 1976 (age 35) Bronx, New York City, New York, United States
Education	Wesleyan University Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Occupation	Meteorologist Journalist
Years active	2000–present

Marysol Castro (born September 29, 1976) is a television journalist and was weather anchor for the The Early Show on CBS in 2011. Prior to that, she was the weather and features correspondent for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010.

Early life and career[link]

Born to Puerto Rican parents in New York City,^[1] Castro was raised in the Bronx and attended Public School 83 and Intermediate School 181. She later attended Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania and graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1996.^[2] She later obtained a Masters of Arts in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Prior to her career with ABC News, Castro was a general assignment reporter for WPIX in New York. She worked as a reporter for News 12, a local cable news network in the Bronx. She taught briefly at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn as an English teacher. In September 2010, Castro left GMA Weekend. On January 3, 2011, as part of a complete show overhaul, Castro became the weekday weather forecaster for The Early Show on CBS replacing Dave Price.^[3] On September 2, 2011, it was announced that she would be leaving her post as weather anchor efffective immediately.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Castro presently resides in Connecticut with her two sons, Liam and Gavin. She filed for divorce from husband Christopher Poole in 2011.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marysol Castro on the Internet Movie Database

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