What Makes Meredith Vieira a Television Superstar?

What makes Meredith Vieira a television superstar is easy to see just by reading one simple fact. According to New York Daily News, not only has the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" reached a new plateau, so has Vieira. On November 5, 2010 daily viewers watched the 1500Th show in the quiz program's history. But what everyone might not have been aware of was that along the way Vieira has become what the New York Daily News calls "the most prolific female game show host in television history." With that accolade to her credit , Meredith Vieira has to be recognized as a television superstar.

The truth is of course that what makes Meredith Vieira a television superstar is more than the number of shows accumulated and hours put in before a live audience. The question of what makes Meredith Vieira a superstar is answered only by taking a good look at Vieira herself and what she brings to the television screen during each performance.

Not necessarily beauty queen material, Meredith Vieira, most would agree, even in her 50's is not too hard on the eyes. While her looks are not drop dead gorgeous, she captivates people with a look that is natural, not phony or made up. To viewers Meredith Vieira looks rather like the girl next door all grown up. Clean, wholesome looking, stylish but not overdone in her attire, Meredith Vieira looks like the grown up version of the girl every guy wanted to take home to meet the folks and every girl wanted as her best friend. It's hard not to like Meredith Vieira even before she says word one.

But when she does talk she gives us a lot more responses to the question what makes Meredith Vieira a television superstar. First of all it is clear that part of Meredith's success comes from the fact that Meredith is intelligent. She may not know all the answers to the questions on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but her brand of intelligence signs through as she deftly leads conversation with each of the myriad of guests who appear on the show. Her education as an undergrad at Tufts University and the more than 30 years of on air experience have not been wasted. Meredith's powerful combination of education and experience have boosted her chances to become a television superstar.

There is something classy about Meredith Vieira, too. Not the kind of class that comes from money but rather the kind that comes from lived experiences. As most viewers know, Meredith Vieira is married to a man who has suffered from MS since he was just 25 years old. He has also endured two battles with colon cancer. Add to those worries the ordinary challenges of raising a family of three children and you can begin to see that Meredith has certainly had sufficient opportunities to become a caring, compassionate and very human person. When she swaps lines with contestants her warmth comes through, enveloping the player and drawing in the live audience and the viewers at home.

Which leads perhaps to what seems to be a very key element in answering the question why is Meredith Vieira a television superstar. Meredith it turns out is a little bit more like the person we want to be than who we actually are. We respect and admire her for it and we are not surprisingly attracted to her as a person.

In a world full of hate crimes, racism, religious intolerance, political factions, poverty and lots of other unsavory elements, people contineu to relish the chance to sit in the middle of the day, maybe over lunch, and enjoy being in the presence of someone who is genuinely a pleasant and kindly human being. Being a good person really can be the key to success, even in television. Meredith Vieira might be the living proof of that theorem.

sources : www.nydailynews.com/entertainment
www.television.aol.com/celebs/meredith-vieira