Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan is not your ordinary reality television show personality. He hosts not one, but two talent-related competitions, and has also tried his hand -- and won -- as a contestant. In his spare time, he still has room for his first passion -- journalism.

Piers Morgan

The Early Years

Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan was born March 30, 1965 in Sussex, England. His father, Vincent, died when he was a baby. Piers, along with his three siblings, was raised by his mother, Gabrielle O'Meara, and grandmother. His mother eventually remarried, allowing him to then be cared for by his stepfather, Glynne Pughe-Morgan. He attended local schools as a child, but in his teens, studied at the prominent Chailey School in East Sussex. However, it was his love for the written word that drew him to study journalism at Harlow College.

Professional Career: Newspapers and Television

Piers Morgan landed his first newspaper job with the Surrey and South London Newspaper as a reporter for the South London News and the Streatham and Tooting News. However, it didn't take long for Morgan's work to be noticed by editors at the prominent U.K. newspaper, The Sun, where he served as a showbiz editor from 1989 to 1994. Later in 1994, at the age of 28, he became the editor of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, the youngest individual to hold this position in more than 50 years. This is where he got a good taste of not only reporting on celebrities, but in dealing with life in the spotlight as well. He later went on to run The Sun 's arch-rival newpaper, The Mirror.

Morgan's abrasive style of disregard and invasiveness toward celebrities won him notoriety not only in England, but across the world. However, he made headlines himself when he broke an editor's code of conduct and printed a photograph of an English royalty leaving rehab. He was taken to task for this action by the Press Complaints Commission. Other situations he soon encountered as a journalist included:

• In 2000, he was investigated for financial misconduct for reportedly buying shares of a computer company before it was published that it was a good buy.
• In 2004, he was fired from The Mirror after running what turned out to be fake photographs of Iraqi prisioners being abused by British Army soldiers.
• In 2006, he launched First News, a weekly newspaper geared toward 7- to 14-year-olds. In 2007, the publication had a circulation of more than 750,000.

The Move to TV

While Piers Morgan is still involved in the newspaper industry, he turned his gears toward television. In 2003, he filmed a British documentary on celebrities and the modern media called, The Importance of Being Famous. For three years, he also co-hosted a current affairs interview show in England called Morgan & Platell. He also hosted episodes of Tabloid Tales and You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous for the BBC.

In 2008, he returned to his journalism roots by presenting the BBC documentary, Dark Side of Fame, where he interviewed Pamela Anderson, Mickey Rourke and Jim Davidson. That same year, he hosted a three-part series titled, Piers Morgan on Sandbanks, in which he looked at the popularity of the Sandbanks on Southern England's Dorset Coast. In 2009, he started as host of Piers Morgan Life Stories.

Piers Morgan's Role in Reality Television

Piers Morgan's first role in U.S. reality television came as a judge on NBC's America’s Got Talent, where, in 2006, he replaced American Idol 's Simon Cowell, and sat beside singer Brandy and actor David Hasselhoff. He was an instant hit. In June 2007, a U.K. version of the show hit the airwaves, called Britain's Got Talent, and is hosted by Morgan, Cowell and British actress Amanda Holden.

Celebrity Apprentice

Just to show that he can take it as good as he can give it, Piers Morgan stepped up to the plate in 2008 as a contestant on the first season of Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice. As one of 14 candidates, Morgan raised more for his charity, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, than any other contestant. At the end of the show, he was able to donate more than $750,000. As a member of the all-male team Hydra, his record as project manager -- two wins and one loss -- surpassed any other contestant's. In the last episode, he was chosen over country music star Trace Adkins as the winner.

Personal Life and Author

Piers Morgan continues to make England his home. In 1991, he married Marion Shalloe, and together they had three sons: Spencer, Stanley and Albert. The couple divorced in 2008. Morgan has been rumored to also have dated columnist Marina Hyde and gossip columnist Celia Walden.

Piers Morgan has also authored numerous books, including:

• Secret Lives (1991)
• Private Lives of the Stars (1991)
• To Dream a Dream: Amazing Life of Phillip Schofield (1992)
• Take That: Our Story (1993)
• Take That: On the Road (1994)
• Va Va Voom!: A Year with Arsenal 2003-04 (2004)
• The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade (2005)
• Don't You Know Who I Am? (2007)
• God Bless America: Misadventures of a Big Mouth Brit (2009)

Piers Morgan Fun Facts

• He was named after Piers Courage, a race car driver and brewery heir.
• In 2009, he stripped as part of an advertising campaign to sell meat-scented cologne for Burger King called Flame.
• Piers Morgan was punched three times by British celebrity Jeremy Clarkson over accusations Morgan made about Clarkson's personal and professional life.

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