Marianela Pereyra (born December 17, 1979) is an American–Argentine TV host, health advocate, writer and actress. She is currently the Resident Beach Expert for Travel Channel. She has been hosting and producing shows for various networks such as Fuse TV, NBC, ESPN, MTV, VH1 and Foxsports.
Born of two professional tango dancers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marianela moved to the United States at the age of five, and took her new country by storm. Soon after her arrival in Washington, DC, at the age of 13, she fell in love with ballet, and was performing solos in a local dance company, spending most of her free time on her toes. Her part-time passion unearthed a real gift – she was quick on her feet. It was through dance that she was able to express herself creatively and that would just be the beginning.
A self-proclaimed nerd, with a natural curiosity and intense urge to understand everything, she spent her college years buried in her books and graduated the University of Maryland a Dean's Scholar, cum laude. It was in college that she was given an opportunity to produce a bilingual health show which her Grandpa, Dr. Quiroga, was thrilled to hear about. Relentlessly trying to maintain her 4.0 average while keeping up with her demanding dance schedule proved to be a challenging time for her, so naturally she took on another task, as the host and producer of her own music video show, "Mhz Hot." She has not stopped talking since – and for good reason. The show got picked up nationally in 2002 by Dish Network, then nominated by Billboard as one of the best Latin-Pop video shows in the nation.