Maria Celeste Arraras was born on the 27th September 1960, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and is a three time Emmy-awarded journalist, best known to the world as the host of the TV show “Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste”, which is extremely popular throughout the USA and Latin American countries, with more than 35 million viewers a day.
Have you ever wondered how rich Maria Celeste is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Maria’s net worth is as high as $8 million, earned through her career in the entertainment industry. Maria has also authored several books, including “Selena‘s Secret: The Revealing Story Behind Her Tragic Death” (1997), about the death of the famed singer Selena Quintanilla, sales of which also contributed to her net worth.
Maria Celeste Net Worth $8 Million
Maria is the first born child to Jose Enrique Arraras and his wife Astrid Mangual; she later got eight siblings, two of whom are from her mother’s second marriage. While in her teens, Maria was an aspiring swimmer, and won three medals at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships. She also qualified for the Summer Olympics in 1976 held in Montreal, Canada; unfortunately she didn’t participate due to mononucleosis. Two years later, she left Puerto Rico for the mainland USA, and enrolled Loyola University in New Orleans, graduating with a degree in Communications.
Her career began in 1986 when she joined the local TV station in Puerto Rico, Channel 24, in news anchor and reporter positions. While working for the station, Maria traveled throughout the world, covering numerous events, and was rewarded journalistic awards for her work.
Just a year later, she was offered a position as co-anchor by the Univision affiliate in New York City. Soon she switched to became Univision’s Los Angeles Bureau Chief, and in 1990 was appointed as the national news anchor for the weekend edition on Noticiero Univision.
Two years later, Maria became co-anchor of the show “Primer Impacto”, alongside Myrka Dellanos. The show became extremely popular over the years, increasing her net worth by a large margin. She served as the co-anchor until 2002, when she decided to leave the station and join Telemundo, which is an archrival of Univision. She immediately took several positions, including the co-host of the “Today” show, and as host and managing editor of the show “Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste”. Little by little she expanded her presence to English language shows, and in 2004 she co-hosted the Brown-Black Democratic Presidential Debate in Iowa for MSNBC, and has also contributed to numerous shows on NBC, including “Dateline” and “Nightly News”, among others. Her appearance in shows has increased their popularity, and cemented Maria’s place in the entertainment industry. In 2012 Maria was appointed as co-anchor of the Noticiero Telemundo, with Jose Diaz-Balart, where she worked for the next four years, but in 2016 she left the show to fully focus on her own show “Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste”.
Most recently she was a panelist for the Republican Party presidential debate held in Houston.
During her career, Maria has received numerous prestigious awards, including three Emmy Awards, the first Emmy in 2005 for her career achievements, and then in 2014 and 2016 her second and third Emmy awards. In 2013 she was the recipient of the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her outstanding career in journalism, among many other awards.
Regarding her personal life, Maria was married to Manny Arevesu from 1990 until 2004; she now lives with their three children in Miami.
Maria is a well-known activist; throughout her career she has been the voice of several organizations, including Para la Naturaleza, PETA, Autism Speaks, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International, among others.
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