Daria O'Neill
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Daria O'Neill (born April 26, 1971) is a radio and television personality and a prominent entertainer in Portland, Oregon, United States. With a background in theatre, she is known for her irreverent humor, sharp wit, and sexy dress. Her first major media roles were as a morning host on local radio station KNRK and as a weather woman on Portland's Warner Brothers television affiliate. She has starred in local theatre productions and emceed various events, and selections from her Local Entertainment Guide are available on compact disc. She currently hosts the afternoon show on KRSK "the Buzz" (105.1 FM).
[edit] Early life and career
Born April 26, 1971 in Tipton, Iowa and raised in Wyoming,[1] and Montana,[2] O'Neill is a graduate with a degree in theatre from Portland's Reed College.[3] She held jobs as a lifeguard at the Multnomah Athletic Club and as a teacher's aid at Wilson High.[1] She was a co-host on the morning show at KNRK Radio in Portland from April 1997 to October 2003. She gained prominence as the weather woman on Portland's Warner Brothers television affiliate, from 1998 to 2000.[1] She was named "Best use of breasts in a weather forecast" in the Willamette Week newspaper's annual "Best of Portland" issue in 2000.[4] In November 2003, she joined the afternoon drive time show at KRSK's "the Buzz" (105.1 FM). Her show there was given an expanded format in 2007.[2] She was named Portland's favorite radio personality four years in a row.[5]
A skilled comedian who writes much of her own material, one of her signature features is "Daria's Local Entertainment Guide", a daily feature in which O'Neill combines references to local attractions with humorous reminiscences from her youth and college days. Material from the Entertainment Guide has been released on compact disc, with proceeds going to Dove Lewis Animal Hospital.[6]
O'Neill appeared in Triangle Theatre's Down South in 2002 and Bad Dates in 2005.[3]She has also modeled for the alternative weekly Willamette Week.[citation needed] She hosted the political event Candidates Gone Wild in 2004, along with activist Steve Novick and others.[7] She anchored the Entertainment Zone on KPDX, a Portland television station,[8] from 2004 to June of 2006. She introduced a concert in the Salem public library's World of Music at the Library series in 2006.[5]
Although O'Neill has had offers to build on her career in other cities, she has expressed a strong desire to remain in Portland.[3]
O'Neill married Portland LumberJax goalie Dallas Eliuk on December 31, 2007.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Brenneman, Kristina. "Daria turning her back on TV to focus on radio", Portland Business Journal, December 8, 2000. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ a b Bartels, Eric. "Daria’s got a couple brand-new bags", Portland Tribune, January 5, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ a b c Bartels, Eric. "Make a (bad) date with Daria O’Neill", Portland Tribune, February 11, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ "Best use of breasts in a weather forecast", Willamette Week/Best Of Portland, 2000. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ a b "Show Date Approaches for FarCry with Daria O'Neill at Salem Public Library", Salem-News.com, December 21, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ Daria's Local Entertainment Guide at CDBaby.com
- ^ Meyer, Elisabeth. "Candidates gone trivial", PSU Daily Vanguard, 2004-04-21. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ archive of KPDX page
- ^ Vondersmith, Jason. "Holy goalie!", Portland Tribune, January 11, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
