Ryan Seacrest Biography:
Born on December 24, 1974 in Dunwoody, Georgia, Ryan Seacrest had always known he wanted to become a DJ. He was fascinated with the work of radio celebrities like Casey Kasem and Dick Clark. When he was 12 years old, he passed out self-made business cards in the hopes of landing a DJ job in his town. As a high school student, he took over making the daily morning announcements and eventually landed a job as an evening radio host for WSTR-FM when he was 16 years old. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he majored in journalism. As a freshman, he landed his first television hosting job for ESPN's Radical Outdoor Challenge. He went on to host game shows like MTV's Gladiators 2000, ABC Family's Wild Animal Games and Click while working as a DJ with Lisa Foxx for the afternoon shift of Star 98.7, a radio station in Los Angeles.
Ryan's popularity grew further when he was chosen to co-host the Pop Idol American franchise, American Idol. The following year, Ryan was flying solo on the American Idol stage and in 2003, hosted the show's spin-off, American Juniors. In 2004, Ryan came out with his own televised radio talk show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, but after receiving low ratings, the show was pulled out after only nine months. In the same year, Ryan was given the honor of hosting the highly popular radio show American Top 40, where he took over his idol, Casey Kasem. He also replaced DJ Rick Dees as the host of KIIS-FM's morning program. He has also occasionally taken Larry King's place in Larry King Live. His critical recognitions include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Daytime Emmy Award for his work as a co-host for the 2005Walt Disney World Christmas day.