Thea Andrews
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Thea Andrews is a Canadian actress and TV personality best known for her stint as hostess of the ESPN2 show Cold Pizza (2003-2005). She used to host a Saturday night counter programming block against Hockey Night in Canada called Guys TV on TSN, and a Canadian cable show titled Cooking For Love. She is currently a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight.
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[edit] Early life and career
Thea was born in Toronto to a businesswoman and a lawyer. Her father is of Macedonian heritage. She attended Bishop Strachan school and was originally a "jock" before opting for theatre instead. A reporter for a local cable channel as a sophomore, Thea starred in Prom Night IV in 1992. After high school, she attended Queen's University and graduated with a degree in Spanish and Latin American studies. While at Queen's University Thea co-hosted (with Cameron Dixon) Paradigm Shift a weekly half-hour series which highlighted the works of Queen's University's Film Department.
After college, Thea pursued a career in business like her mother. She worked in Monte Carlo and was doing well but felt somewhat unfulfilled by her career. A TV director she was dating encouraged her to try her hand in the entertainment business. Thea, still in love with show business, became an intern, a job she got by (as she claims) basically "harassing" them.
By 1999, Thea was a producer at Fashion Television. The new millennium found her as host of the show Cooking for Love. Soon, she was hosting Guy's TV on TSN. Though both were cancelled, Thea continued to pursue her dreams. She became a reporter on the show etalk Daily and eventually the show's host.
[edit] Acting career
Thea also has a list of theatre credits, including Cabaret in high school and The Vagina Monologues in 2001. She has also produced a number of shows in addition to writing internet columns for TSN. Thea had a small role in the film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle as the TV anchorwoman.
Before her part on Cold Pizza, Thea was seen in the ESPN series Playmakers (2003), in which she played the role of Samantha Lovett, a television sports news reporter. The role was highly controversial and The Association for Women in Sports Media formally filed a complaint for the portrayal of Lovett. Thea disagreed with this complaint in an interview with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer in 2005.
[edit] ESPN
Soon, she departed for her most notable role, national correspondent on ESPN2's morning show, Cold Pizza. The show was originally hosted by Kit Hoover and Jay Crawford. Eventually, Thea became co-host, though that did not seem accurate; the show began cutting both the airtime of Thea and Kit Hoover. In an attempt to become more sports-oriented rather than a blend of sports, pop culture, and entertainment, the show dropped Thea and Kit altogether in March 2005. They were replaced by Dana Jacobson. While Kit left the network, Thea had already agreed several months prior to be transferred to Los Angeles to host ESPN2's new evening entertainment show, ESPN Hollywood. In the meantime, she co-hosted the ESPY Red Carpet Show with Stuart Scott in July 2005.
Beginning on August 15, 2005, Andrews and Mario Lopez began hosting ESPN Hollywood. ESPN Hollywood was a weeknight entertainment show a la Entertainment Tonight which focused more on Hollywood's relationship to the sports world. The show would end up cancelled in January 2006 after a management change at ESPN in which several ESPN shows were cancelled (Cheap Seats, Classic Now, etc.) She was a co-host of ESPN's Breakfast at Churchill Downs program on the morning of the 132nd Kentucky Derby. After the Derby, Thea also participated in covering the Preakness and Belmont for the third year in a row.
[edit] Entertainment Tonight
On November 16, 2006, Thea made her debut as a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight.
