Biography for
Leeann Tweeden More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 June 1973, Manassas, Virginia, USA

Birth Name

Leeann Velez Tweeden

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Born to parents of Spanish, Filipino, and Norwegian ancestry, Miss Tweeden grew up in Virginia as a self-proclaimed "tomboy". After graduating from Osbourn Park Senior High in 1991, she pursued a career in modeling. Upon moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado, she worked briefly as a Hooters waitress before winning her modeling job, gaining first place in the Venus International Model Search in 1992. From there, she traveled the United States doing promotional appearances and hosted the 1993 Venus Model Search competition, which she returned to host in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. During this time, she relocated to Los Angeles, modeling for Fredericks of Hollywood, Hooters (appearing in their 1993 & 1994 calendars), Playboy magazine (as a cover girl), and Playboy's Book of Lingerie, in the November/December 1994 issue. She also appeared in the video Edenquest: Pamela Anderson (1995) (V). In 1996, she landed a spot on the ESPN2 show "Fitness Beach" (1998), as well as a layout in the August 1996 issue of Playboy magazine. In 1997, she was chosen as the model for the lead character in a No Mercy comic book, titled "Coven 13". She continued modeling for various magazines, including Playboy, and put out her first calendar in 1998, featuring the photographs of Mario Barberio.

Returning to the small screen, she became a regular on the half-hour Fox Sports Net/Speed Channel motor-cross show "High Octane" (2002) and also hosted Fox Sports Net's "Bluetorch TV" (2000), an extreme sports show. In addition, Leeann was a correspondent for an installment of E!'s "Wild On..." (1997) series. She can currently be seen on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" (2001) also on Fox Sports Net, and her pictorials can be found all over the Internet.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Corrector

Mini Biography

Since 2008, Leeann Tweeden has been seen as the host of NBC's "National Heads-Up Poker Championship" (2008). She also hosts the popular late night show, "Poker After Dark" (2007), six days a week. Before moving to NBC, Leeann could be seen on the Fox Sports Network and has covered everything from mainstream and extreme sports to news and entertainment. She has won a Telly Award and with her former show, "Mansionpoker.net Poker Dome Challenge" (2006), won a Sports Emmy.

Leeann was born and raised in the Washington, DC suburb of Manassas, Virginia. Her dad and brother raced cars and go-karts while growing up, and her uncle was a track announcer. You could say she was born into a racing family. Leeann graduated from high school in 3 years at the age of 16, and instead of going straight to college, Leeann wanted to follow her dreams of moving to Hollywood. She did so at the age of 18, and once there, she was soon cast as a spokes model on Ed McMahon's famous talent show "Star Search" (1983), launching her television career.

Leeann also spent years modeling in Los Angeles before she auditioned for and beat out 30,000 other women for the ESPN workout show "Fitness Beach" (1998). The program was the number one-rated fitness show of its time according to the New York Times. Over the years, Leeann has been the focus of numerous magazine covers and articles that range from health and fitness, to lifestyle, to popular men's magazines like Maxim, FHM and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

She's appeared on talk shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (2003) and "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" (1999) and done radio appearances on "Loveline", "Adam Corolla" and "Howard Stern". She's often been invited to be a contributor to news shows such as "Hannity" (2009), "Scarborough Country" (2003), "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" (2004), "Your World w/ Neil Cavuto" (1996) and "Red Eye" (2007). She is also frequently asked to write columns for different publications, and even had her own racing column in Stuff Magazine.

In January 2002, Leeann became a cast member on FSN's "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" (2001). This occurred after originally coming on the show as a guest, thus solidifying her in the world of mainstream sports. She frequently appeared on the panel with host and comedian Tom Arnold, as well as ex-pro athletes such as Michael Irvin, John Kruk and John Salley.

While appearing on this show, Leeann flew with the Navy's Blue Angels and skydived with the Army's Golden Knights. She learned what it was like to be a professional bull rider and rodeo clown. After spending time at various NFL training camps, she learned how to play different positions from the pro athletes. And with Major League Baseball's best players at spring training, she learned how to throw a curve ball and how to play the "hot corner". She's covered the Daytona 500 numerous times, as well as many Superbowls, World Series and the Kentucky Derby. Leeann also had her weekly "Best Damn Insider" segment that covered the inside worlds of sports and entertainment.

In 2005, Leeann moved part-time to Charlotte, NC to host the NASCAR lifestyle show "NASCAR Nation" (2005) on SPEED. For the show, Leeann interviewed the likes of Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx and Lisa Marie Presley, to name a few. She was hired due to her racing background and insight into the sport. While in Charlotte, Leeann proudly filmed a public service announcement warning teens against the perils of drunk driving.

Leeann has used her celebrity status to help promote various causes including the USO, The Wounded Warriors Foundation, breast cancer research, The Special Olympics, and charities to help the children of fallen soldiers. She has done 12 USO Tours around the world, and has gone overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the troops on 10 different occasions. This includes almost every Thanksgiving or Christmas since the attacks on 9/11. She's traveled numerous times with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Gary Sinise, Wayne Newton, John Elway, Matt Lauer and Jason Taylor, among others. When she is in Washington, DC, she visits the wounded warriors at the medical centers of Walter Reed and Bethesda. This is something close to her heart as her father was an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.

Leeann is working on her degree in Political Science at Santa Monica College before transferring to either USC or UCLA. She resides in Los Angeles with her fiancé, who is a JetBlue pilot and a member of the Air National Guard.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Leeann Tweeden

Spouse

?	(4 July 2010 - present)

Trivia

Is of Filipino, Spanish and Norwegian ancestry.

Has a column she writes for Racer X Illustrated, a motorcycle newspaper. She also appeared in a layout for the paper.

Was a correspondent and interviewer for the FX show Toughman (2000) (TV).

Voted in at #77 in the American edition of FHM's Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll. [June 2002]

Leeann Tweeden has graced the pages of the Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs more than any other model

Measurements: 34D-24-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Romantically linked with Florida Marlins pitcher and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett.

Named #14 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

Named #47 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

She was December on FHM magazine's 2005 pin-up calendar (2005).

Visited US Troops in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan as part of the 2006 Sergeant Major of the Army Hope and Freedom USO Tour.