Maria Celeste Arraras is a Puerto Rican broadcast journalist, author, and television personality, who is well-known as the recipient of three national Emmy Awards for journalism. She also became the first female recipient of the Legacy Award by Broadcast and Multi-Channel for outstanding achievement in Hispanic Television in 2005.
Celeste is also the Executive Producer and screenplay writer for “Selena’s Secret”, that she wrote about the murder of singer Selena Quintanilla, known as the Queen of Tex Mex.
Known as the host of the Spanish news program “Al Rojo Vivo”, Celeste earned much popularity as her program has a daily audience of 35 million viewers that have made her one of the most influential Hispanic figures in social platforms with 1.8 million followers on Instagram: @mariacelestearraras and over 1.1 million followers on Twitter: @MariaCeleste.
However, on August 5, 2020, she was fired by Telemundo where she worked for over 18 years from 2002 till 2020. Besides, Maria was included on the cover of “Newsweek” magazine, as one of the 20 most powerful women of the next generation of leaders in 2006.
What is Maria Celeste Arraras Famous for?
- Famous as Emmy winning host of the Spanish news program “Al Rojo Vivo”.
- Known as the author who penned Selena’s Secret, a nonfiction work about the death of pop icon Selena Quintanilla.
Source: @gettyimages
Where was Maria Celeste Arraras Born?
Maria Celeste Arraras was born on September 27, 1960, in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Her birth name is Maria Celeste Arraras Mangual. Her nationality is Puerto Rican. Maria belongs to Latino ethnicity while Virgo is her zodiac sign.
Maria was born as the first child of Jose Enrique Arraras(father) and Astrid Mangual(mother). Her father, Jose, is a politician, lawyer, and educator, while her mother, Astrid is a homemaker and chemist. Arraras has altogether eight siblings, including two born from her mother’s remarriage and 6 from her father’s re-marriage, Astrid, José Enrique, Jr., Patricia, Gabriel Enrique, Enrique Antonio, and Isabel Celeste.
She was active in sports especially water sports since her childhood and even has won three medals(one gold, one silver, and one bronze) at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships in 1971. She even got qualified to compete at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, however, one week before the game, she contracted mononucleosis and became unable to compete.
Later, in 1978, she left for New Orleans, Louisiana to attend Loyola University where got graduated majoring in Communications.
After almost 35 years, she returned to Loyola University in 2016, where she was inducted into the School of Mass Communication’s Den of Distinction and was honored by Loyola University for her career in television.
Source: @mariacelestearraras.over-blog
Maria Celeste Arraras’s Evolution from 1986 to Present
- Maria Celeste Arraras began her broadcasting career as a news anchor and reporter at a local Puerto Rican television station, Channel 24 in 1986. She covered major news events at the spot receiving several journalistic awards.
- She was also hired as co-anchor of the Univision affiliate’s local news show in New York City in 1987. Shortly after, she became the Los Angeles Bureau Chief.
- In 1990, she was named the national news anchor for Noticiero Univision weekend edition.
- She was then named the co-anchor of a new television news program, “Noticias y Mas”, alongside Myrka Dellanos in 1992. Along with Dellanos, she hosted several other Univision’s large franchises: “Primer Impacto Extra”, “Primer Impacto Edicion Nocturna”, and the weekly show, “Ver Para Creer”.
- She hold the position for over 8 years when she left the show to join the rival network, “Telemundo” in 2002.
- Her first work was to host her own Telemundo show, at the same time, to file English-language reports for Dateline(top-magazine), and work as a guest co-host in NBC’s Today show.
- Following her productive presence, in 2002, the day when NBC Universal acquired Telemundo as part of their larger network, she was given the post of the host and Managing Editor of the show, “Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste”.
- In 2004, Arraras co-hosted the Brown-Black Democratic Presidential Debate in Iowa for MSNBC.
- She has also contributed to different NBC programs including Dateline and Nightly News.
- With her debut as a contributor for Dateline NBC, the show experienced a dramatic audience increase in both Hispanic and Anglo demographics.
- In 2012, Arrarás became co-anchor of Noticiero Telemundo alongside Jose Diaz-Balart.
- For the coverage of the election of Pope Francis, Maria along with her team won an Emmy Award in 2014.
- She was awarded her third Emmy Award for “Francisco in America,” Telemundo’s special coverage of Pope Francis’s historic visit to Cuba and the USA in 2016.
- With her third win, she extended her contract with Telemundo for more years and opted to dedicate fully to her current show, “Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste”.
- In February 2016, Arrarás served as a panelist for the Republican Party presidential debate held in Houston.
- She celebrated her 30-year long career span in television with a special edition of “Al Rojo Vivo” reuniting with Dellanos in 2016.
- Her birthplace, Puerto Rico, honored her by granting her a star on their “Paseo de la Fama de Puerto Rico,” their walk of fame.
- After working for over 18 years, on August 5, 2020, Arraras was fired from her long-lasting show, “Al Rojo Vivo” and the Telemundo company.
Awards and Honors
- Received 3 Emmy Awards for her coverages.
- Recipient of the Award for Outstanding Achievement
- Awarded the PETA Humanitarian Award
- Honored with her name and hand-prints on a plaque on display in Mexico City in 2003
- Given the most “social” celebrity award in Premios Tu Mundo in 2013
- Joined Las Vegas Walk of Stars in 2018
- Recipient of Hispanicize 2018 Latinovator Award
Source: @yahoo
Who is Maria Celeste Arraras married to?
Maria Celeste Arraras has been married just once to date. Her first and the only marriage was with Manny Arvesu with whom she got married in 1996. They together had 3 children: Julian Enrique and Lara Giuliana, and later in 2000, they adopted a Russian boy and named him Adrian Vadim.
However, their marriage didn’t last long and they got divorced after 8 years in 2004. Currently, Arraras lives happily in Miami along with her three children serving as their single mother.
Besides, Maria is a vocal environmental and animal rights activist who has spoken out against the exploitation of animals in every term. She is currently working with The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International for the welfare of more than 300,000 stray dogs and one million stray cats on the island.
She is a supporter of Para la Naturaleza, a non-profit organization, and is an avid supporter and advocate of the organizations that are dedicated to environmental conservation.
What is the Net Worth of Maria Celeste Arraras?
Maria Celeste Arraras has quite good earnings from her professional career as a journalist and television personality. Having started her successful career as a reporter and journalist since 1986, Maria has undoubtedly managed to establish herself as one of the 10 most powerful women of the next generation of leaders and has amassed a healthy fortune from her 34 years long career. Her net worth is estimated to be around $16 million.
Arraras also has some earnings from her other profession as an author. With the release of her first book that describes her in-depth investigation surrounding the events titled “Selena‘s Secret: The Revealing Story Behind Her Tragic Death” in 1997, she got much popularity that increased her more earnings.
Her second book was a children’s fable titled “The Magic Cane” which was published by Scholastic in 2007. Later, in 2009, she wrote and published “Make Your Life Prime Time: How to Have It All Without Losing Your Soul”.
How Tall is Maria Celeste Arraras?
Maria Celeste Arraras is a beautiful lady who has still the charm even though she is in her late 50s. She stands tall with a height of 5ft. 8inch.(1.70m) while her body weighs around 67kg(148 lbs).
She has a well maintained average body physique of measurement 35-25-35 inches with 40C as her bra size and 7.5(US) as her dress size. She has a fair complexion with hair and eyes.
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