Melissa Rivers

Melissa Warburg Rosenberg[1] (previously Endicott; born January 20, 1968),[2] better known as Melissa Rivers, is an American actress and television host. She is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg.

Melissa Rivers
Rivers during New York Fashion Week in 2012
Born
Melissa Warburg Rosenberg

(1968-01-20) January 20, 1968
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
OccupationTelevision host, producer, actress, philanthropist
Years active1978–present
TelevisionJoan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, Fashion Police
Spouse(s)
John Endicott
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2003)​
Partner(s)Jason Zimmerman (2008–2012)
Mark Rousso (2015–present)
Children1
Parents
Websitemelissarivers.com

Early life

Melissa Warburg Rosenberg was born in New York City to a Jewish family. She is the only child of Joan Rivers and Edgar Rosenberg.[2] She spent the majority of her childhood in Los Angeles, California. She attended the John Thomas Dye School, Marlborough School, and The Buckley School. Rivers first started dancing at the age of 8, taking once-a-week group lessons. She became more serious about the activity at the age of 12, taking regular private lessons.

Rivers attended the University of Pennsylvania, where in 1989 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history.[3] During her second year of college, her father Edgar committed suicide.[3] In 1990, she took on her mother's stage surname, after which she became known as Melissa Rivers.[4]

Career

As an actress, she has had roles in television shows including Beverly Hills, 90210, Silk Stalkings, The Comeback. In 1998, she also appeared in the sci-fi/comedy made-for-television movie Men in White and in the 1999 film The Big Tease, a comedy directed by Kevin Allen starring Craig Ferguson. She and her mother, Joan Rivers, portrayed themselves in the 1994 celebrity docudrama Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story.

In the early 1990s, she branched out on the pre-show red carpet, interviewing celebrities on nationally televised awards shows. Rivers, who has hosted various events and served as a producer for the E! Network, has hosted two of the channel's highest-rated specials: Oh Baby! Melissa’s Guide to Pregnancy[5] and Oh Toddler! Surviving the Early Years (aired in January 2002).

With her mother, she hosted fashion on the red carpet interviews for the E! cable network. In 2003, they left the red carpet pre-show on E! to accept a more lucrative deal with the TV Guide Channel valued at between $6 and $8 million.[6] Also in 2003, she appeared on the ABC Network competitive reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She has been a regular guest on the webcast show Tom Green's House Tonight.

In 2013, she was a co-creator and co-producer of Joan's YouTube web series In Bed With Joan, a 15- to 30-minute show with a new video uploaded weekly in which Joan interviewed a celebrity about a wide variety of personal topics in Joan's bed, with Melissa conducting interview questions for the last several minutes. Featured videos that have garnered the most views featured comedians Kathy Griffin, Sarah Silverman, and Margaret Cho, television personalities Kelly Osbourne and RuPaul, as well as Youtubers Jenna Mourey (Jenna "Marbles"), Grace Helbig ("itsgrace") and Justine Ezarik ("iJustine"). Other guests included Russell Peters, Gary Busey, Rob Delaney, Gabriel Iglesias, Carmen Electra, Lance Bass, Howie Mandel, Chris Hardwick, Bill Engvall, Tom Green, Penn Jillette, Aisha Tyler, Anthony Jeselnik, Nick Kroll and T.J. Miller.[7] In 2013, Melissa and Joan were honored by the Ride of Fame and a double decker tour bus was dedicated to them.[8]

On August 31, 2015, Fashion Police began featuring Rivers as a co-host.[9]

Philanthropy

In 2003, she appeared in a PETA anti-fur ad campaign, encouraging consumers to "Fake It...for the Animals' Sake."[10]

She raised $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation,[11] resulting from ABC's 2006 television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Live. On June 24, 2008, Rivers appeared on the NBC game show Celebrity Family Feud as part of the Rivers Family Team. She and her mother first battled against the Ice-T Family Team, then went on to compete against the Raven-Symoné Family Team. They won $50,000 for their charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind.[12]

She appeared on the NBC reality television program Celebrity Apprentice playing for the Lili Claire Foundation. She was fired in the episode that aired April 26, 2009, after which she stormed out of the boardroom, verbally assaulted teammates Annie Duke and Brande Roderick, yelled at the production crew, and refused the obligatory exit interview. Her mother was also a contestant on that season of The Apprentice, and threatened to quit the show after Melissa's firing, but remained and ultimately won the competition.[13]

She raised $22,250 on a special celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, where all the celebrities played to raise money for the research of Alzheimer's disease.[14]

Personal life

Rivers married horse trainer John Endicott in December 1998, at New York City's Plaza Hotel in a $3 million wedding.[15] They divorced in 2003.[16] She has one son from that marriage, Edgar Cooper Endicott (born in 2000)[17] who was featured with Rivers and her mother in the reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?[18] She was in a relationship with sports coach Jason Zimmerman from 2008 to 2011.[19]

On January 26, 2015, Rivers filed a malpractice lawsuit against the clinic and doctors who performed surgery on her mother that caused her death.[20]

Since 2015, Rivers has been in a relationship with talent agent Mark Rousso.[21]

Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1978 Rabbit Test Little girl Feature film
1991 Beverly Hills, 90210 Mackenzie Episode: "Fame Is Where You Find It"
1998 Men in White Female Reporter #1 Television film
1999 Silk Stalkings Tegan Cook Episode: "A Clockwork Florida Orange"
1999 The Big Tease Dianne Abbott Television film
2000 Best Actress Herself Television film
2001 Just Shoot Me! Herself Episode: "Sugar Momma"
2004 Out for Blood Talk Show Host Direct-to-video
2004 Dave the Barbarian Princess Irmaplotz (voice) Recurring role; 3 episodes
2003–2017 Fashion Police Herself Executive producer; 112 episodes
Host; 31 episodes
2005 The L Word Herself Cameo Appearance; 1 episode "Lagrimos de Oro"
2007–2008 Jury Duty Herself Guest star; 5 episodes
2009 The Bold and the Beautiful Herself Guest star; 4 episodes
2009–2015 The Apprentice Herself Host; 12 episodes
2010 Cubed Human Resource Rep Guest star
2011–2013 Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? Herself Co-executive producer; 26 episodes
Main cast; 34 episodes
2013–2014 In Bed with Joan Herself Executive producer; 71 episodes
Guest star; 4 episodes
2015 Joy Joan Rivers Feature film

Books
  • The Book of Joan. Crown Archetype. 2015. (Biography/Humor)
  • Joan Rivers Confidential: The Unseen Scrapbooks, Joke Cards, Personal Files, and Photos of a Very Funny Woman Who Kept Everything. Abrams. 2017.

Honors
  • On March 1, 2013, Rivers and her mother, Joan Rivers, were honored by the Ride of Fame and a double decker tour bus was dedicated to them in New York City.[22]

References
  1. Rosen, Marjorie (June 21, 1993). "The Rivers Run Together". People. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  2. "Melissa Rivers". TV Guide. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  3. Rosen, Marjorie (June 21, 1993). "The Rivers Run Together". People. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  4. "Melisa Rivers takes mother's surname" September 14, 1990, Spokane Chronicle
  5. Hale, Mike. "Test". The New York Times.
  6. "TV briefs: Rivers duo may leave E! for TV Guide Channel" June 25, 2004, The Seattle Times
  7. http://www.inbedwithjoan.com Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Video: Joan and Melissa Rivers Debut Their Glamorous Ride of Fame in NYC. Huffington Post. March 1, 2013.
  9. Denise Petski. "Melissa Rivers To Co-Host E!'s 'Fashion Police' – Deadline". Deadline.
  10. Deborah Shoeneman, "Arnold's High Times...Melissa Rivers' Naked Ambition...Grimm News for Polanski," New York Magazine, 25 August 2003
  11. "ABC's "I'm A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here!", LIVE, Nightly, February 19 – March 5". Archived from the original on 8 November 2006.
  12. "NBC ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR FAMILIES SET TO PLAY 'THE FEUD' WHEN 'CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD' HOSTED BY AL ROKER PREMIERES ON TUESDAY, JULY 1". Reality Wanted. June 11, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  13. NBC Celebrity Apprentice 2 Press Release
  14. Bio at Yahoo News
  15. "VOWS; Melissa Rivers, John Endicott" December 13, 1998, The New York Times
  16. "Melissa Rivers Is Single Again". The Smoking Gun.
  17. Fink, Mitchell (December 2, 2000). "Stars To Swell Cathedral For Mottola Wedding". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012.
  18. "Joan Rivers is a nice person – really" June 24, 2010, Miami Herald
  19. Steven Williams. "The Turbulent Break-Up Between Melissa Rivers And Jason Zimmerman Airs On Reality Show". Contactmusic.com.
  20. "Lawyers: Melissa Rivers files malpractice lawsuit in mother Joan's death". Fox News. Associated Press. January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  21. "PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  22. Joan and Melissa Rivers Debut Their Glamorous Ride of Fame in NYC Huffington Post. March 1, 2013.
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