Brooke Elizabeth Burns is a lot of things. She is an actress, a fashion model, a game show host, and a television personality. She was well known for hosting the GSN quiz show “The Chase”, which got nominated at the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show. Burns was also recognized two years later for her effort on the show, getting nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host.
Her life took a new direction back in November 2005 when she was involved in a diving incident that almost damaged her spine. “It was my nightly routine. I didn’t even think about it,” Burns explains. “But one of the pool lights was out, and I misjudged the depth and hit my head on the bottom.”
Brooke was so lucky that a friend of hers was visiting at the time of the incident. He saw her in distress just as he was arriving, and he quickly jumped into the pool, keeping her afloat until the paramedics arrived. As a result, her friend was able to not only save her life, but also her mobility.
The actress and TV host has since found a new purpose after narrowly avoiding paralysis and has been an advocate for those with spinal cord injuries.
Top 10 interesting facts about Brooke Elizabeth Burns
- Brooke Elizabeth Burns is one of three daughters of Brad Burns and Betsy Burns.
- She was a ballet dancer for most of her childhood until a tragic knee injury ended her dancing career at 15.
- Brooke attended Trinity Christian Academy before her parents opted for home-schooling so she could spend more time training with the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet.
- Brooke Burns started modelling at 16, touring Europe and moving to New York on her own at age 17.
- She has been married twice and has two daughters, one from each of her marriages. She was formerly married to the son of the former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon.
- The actress was once named #31 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.
- Brooke also suffered a near-death experience that almost made her lose her mobility.
- She is involved with a couple of charitable organizations especially one that involves helping people with spinal cord injuries.
- She has served as a TV host for a couple of shows and currently hosts GSN’s “Master Minds”.
- Brooke Burns is currently married to Gavin O’Connor.
- She is estimated to have a net worth of about $3 million.
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Early life

Brooke was born on 16 March 1978 to Brad and Betsy Burns. She has two sisters, and they were all raised in Dallas, Texas. During her childhood, Brooke was a ballet dancer for 12 years, and she started her modelling journey when she was 15.
Until the seventh grade, Brooke attended Trinity Christian Academy. After then, her parents opted for home-schooling so she could spend more time training with the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. She began dancing at age 2.
Brooke’s dancing career ended at 15 following a skiing accident that required reconstructive knee surgery. She soon began modelling, travelling throughout Europe and moving to New York on her own at age 17.
On how interesting modelling was, Brooke said, “I found out you could make $125 an hour just smiling in front of a camera. Fantastic!”
Career

Before Brooke Burns got the nod to host the “Masterminds Game Show”, she had been in a few industries herself. As a child, she was a ballet dancer for more than a decade before a horrible knee injury halted her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She soon turned the setback around by becoming a model.
Brooke toured Europe modelling for different clients. She also began doing commercials and featured in a couple of magazines including Stuff, back in August 2002.
Before long, she got an offer to co-star in the short-lived 1996 series “Out of the Blue.” Also, Brooke Burns starred in the 1998 film “Baywatch” as Jessica ‘Jessie’ Owens.
She also appeared on a celebrity edition of “Fear Factor” but was eliminated in the first round, leading to her stint as host on “Dog Eat Dog.” Brooke has also featured as a guest, ‘a fantasy girl’, on “Ally McBeal” while making her feature film debut in 2001’s “Shallow Hal”.
Brooke Burns has also appeared on “Just Shoot Me!”, “Drop Dead Diva”, “CSI: Miami, Out of the Blue”, “To Tell the Truth”, “Average Joe: Hawaii”, and she was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for best game show host on the GSN game show “The Chase” with Mark Labbett. Currently, Brooke is the host of the American game show “Master Minds”.
The Chase host

Brooke Burns was the host of the popular quiz show “The Chase”, which originally ran on GSN from 2013 to 2015, and even got nominated for an Emmy for her work as the game show host.
However, she didn’t make a return for the US spin-off, which left fans wondering what happened to their beloved host. Well, what happened was that Brooke was already hosting “Master Minds” while also playing Maggie on “The Gourmet Detective”.








