Jeannie Mai

Background

As a fashion mogul in the entertainment industry, Jeannie Mai Jenkins redefines what beauty means to her. She is the award-winning and super talented host most loved by millions worldwide. On January 4, 1979, Mai was born in San Jose, California. Mai’s ethnicity is half Chinese and half Vietnamese. She is the daughter of James and Olivia. She got her high school diploma from Milpitas High School in California. Mai soon gained interest in the fashion space at 18 and decided to work for MAC Cosmetics as a makeup artist. She had quite a number of celebrity clients such as Alicia Keys, Jennifer Aniston, Kelly Osborne, and Christiana Aguilera.

Mai began to look for hosting jobs in 2003 by auditioning and writing her own scripts. Her talent and drive got her a job as the co-host of “Stir” on the Asian American magazine-style show. She moved on in 2005 to get her first solo hosting role on the U.S.A Network, “Character Fantasy.” Mai appeared on TLC’s “10 Years Younger” as a member of the beauty squad. She has also hosted parts of the fashion and entertainment segment on E!, TLC, and Lifetime.

In 2009, she got to host her own show, “How Do I Look?” on the Style Network. Mai hosted “Miss Universe Pageant” in 2011 and appeared on season one of “Asia’s Next Top Model” as a guest judge in 2012. What really catapulted Mai into fame was her co-host role on “The Real” in 2013, where she starred alongside Tamar Braxton, Tamera Mowry, Adrienne Bailon, and Loni Love. Mai featured on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2020 but left later that year due to her health issue with epiglottitis. She has gone on to win a couple of awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host alongside her fellow co-hosts.

Mai is a strong and resilient woman. Despite her rocky 11 years of marriage to her ex-husband, Freddy Harteis, and having no children together, she found love again and is happier than ever. She is currently married to Jezzy, a rapper, and they have a lovely daughter named Monaco Mai-Jenkins.