Billie Holiday (broadcaster)
Billie Holiday (born in Guelph, Ontario) is the professional name of Canadian radio and television personality Amanda Dunn.
The daughter of a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Holiday first became involved in radio at the age of 15.
She later attended Humber College's TV and Film Production and Radio Broadcasting programs. She began her professional radio career at CKDX, then a marginal dance music station in Newmarket, Ontario, north of Toronto. She moved to Toronto's KISS 92.5 FM as entertainment reporter, then became full co-host of the Mad Dog and Billie morning show with the departure Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels's first partner Daryn Jones. The show continued at KISS when it transitioned to an urban contemporary format, then moved to the sister station of KISS, adult contemporary station CHFI from 2003 to 2005. After a year-long absence from the dial, Mad Dog and Billie returned to the Toronto airwaves on August 8, 2006 on MIX 99.9 FM.
She was also a reporter of the Sound Source radio network, a host of the Canadian edition of televised talent search Popstars, and co-host of Rogers Cable community series Daytime.
Also an actress, she played the character Vanessa on Showtime show Soul Food: The Series opposite Vanessa A. Williams. Billie also started 'GO' (Girls Only), a program for the Toronto District School Board to promote self-esteem to high school girls. She received the Public Education HERO Award in 2002.
She was also a host of late night TV talk show Last Call, which aired on Toronto station Toronto 1.
On July 13 2011 she was let go by the station, but co-host Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels remained. In August 2013, she was announced as co-host on the 102.1 Edge's Dean Blundell Show, replacing Todd Shapiro.[1] On January 6, 2014 it was announced that the Dean Blundell show was cancelled leaving Billie's future in doubt.
References
External links
- "The Breakfast Show with Mad Dog and Billie" page on VirginRadio.ca
- Billie Holiday on Twitter
- "Billie Holiday has replaced Todd Shapiro as co-host of the Dean Blundell Show" page on o.canada.com