Philip John "Phil" Keoghan (; born May 31, 1967) is a
New Zealand-born
television personality, best known for hosting the
US version of
The Amazing Race on
CBS, since its 2001 debut.
He is also the creator and host of
No Opportunity Wasted, which has been produced in the United States, New Zealand, and
Canada. He has won seven
Emmy Awards for his work.
[IMDb bio]
Biography
Born in the town of
Lincoln, New Zealand, south of
Christchurch, Keoghan spent a considerable part of his childhood in
Antigua and
Canada. Phil attended
St Andrew's College, Christchurch during his high school years. He has worked in over 70 countries as a television host, producer, writer, and cameraman. He currently lives with his wife, Louise Rodrigues (b. February 8, 1963), and their daughter, Elle, in
Los Angeles. They also have a home in
Matarangi, on the
Coromandel Peninsula,
New Zealand - one of Keoghan's two favourite places in New Zealand. The other is
Westport, where his ancestors come from.
[www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/features/the_amazing_race/related_topic/q-&-a-with-host-phil-keoghan.cfm/context/popup.html]
While completing a TV
cameraman apprenticeship, he successfully auditioned for New Zealand children's show
Spot On at age 19. After a series of further presenter work on television in New Zealand television, he set off to further his career abroad. Before joining
The Amazing Race, he was considered as a host for
Survivor, but was unsuccessful partly due to his nationality.
For his hosting of
The Amazing Race, Keoghan was nominated for the 2009
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program in the second year of the award's creation but lost to Jeff Probst of
Survivor.
In a 2002 interview, he admitted that his pay for a single episode of
The Amazing Race is more than an entire year on
Spot On.
[:: wickED - Phil Keoghan ::]
According to his book,
No Opportunity Wasted, Keoghan set out to live his life to the fullest by accomplishing exotic goals and taking risks after a near-death experience at the age of 19. Since then, he's broken a world
bungee jumping record, gone diving in the world's longest underwater
caves, eaten a meal on top of an erupting
volcano, and renewed his vows underwater. He was a guest on
The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he shared with
Oprah his list of things he wants to do before he dies. The focus of many of his shows is helping others live their lives to the fullest.
From March 28 to May 9, 2009, Keoghan performed a "Ride Across America", in partnership with several organizations including
GNC to raise money for
Multiple sclerosis research. Keoghan and others biked 3,500 miles from Los Angeles to New York City, averaging 100 miles per day and stopped in 39 cities en route during which Koeghan attended events and participated in casting selections for the 15th cycle of
The Amazing Race. The ride culminated a day before the finale of the 14th season of
The Amazing Race. The event raised $500,000, with over $400,000 coming from in-store donations during the ride.
Keoghan has hosted over 1,000 different program episodes
[realitytv.about.com/od/realitytvhosts/a/PhilKeoghan.htm].
Family
His brother,
Andrew Keoghan, was a television reporter on
Television New Zealand's
One News and is a successful jazz singer.
His sister, Ruth Keoghan Cooper, is an MBA graduate of Sydney's Macquarie University. She specialises in coaching, training and development programmes for professional women who wish to combine successful careers with motherhood
.
Dr. John Keoghan, Phil's father, is an agricultural scientist involved with
conservation in New Zealand.
He appeared alongside Phil as a Pit Stop greeter during the
13th cycle of
The Amazing Race when the players stopped in New Zealand.
Shows
Some of the shows Phil Keoghan has been involved with include:
