Piers Morgan Quick Info
Height6 ft 1 in
Weight97 kg
Date of Birth 30, 1965
Zodiac SignAries
SpouseCelia Walden

Piers Morgan is a British journalist turned TV presenter whose opinions and argumentative nature has famously annoyed several celebrities in the UK and the USA. He has served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got More Talent, and America’s Got Talent. He is known for serving as a host for Piers Morgan Live from 2011 to 2014. Piers has a large social media fan base with more than 500k followers on Instagram and more than 7 million followers on Twitter.

Born Name

Piers Stefan O’Meara

Nick Name

Piers

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Newick, Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Residence 

  • Los Angeles, California, United States
  • New York City, United States
  • North Kensington, West London, England, United Kingdom
  • Newick, Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Nationality

British

Education

Piers studied at the independent Cumnor House preparatory school from the age of 11 to 13 followed by Chailey Comprehensive Secondary School in East Sussex where he developed an interest in English language, literature, and history.

He also attended and graduated from Lewes Priory Sixth-Form College. Piers got an offer for admission to Warwick University for a Bachelor’s Degree in History on the condition to re-take A-level French that he had failed. Piers decided to take the year off and worked for 9 months in the insurance sector at Lloyd’s of London. He quit that job due to boredom.

The following year, he chose enrollment to a one-year course in Journalism at the prestigious Harlow College in Essex, England. Admission to Harlow College was quite competitive since there were 1000 applicants for 56 seats. He was 1 of 5 boys in a class of 56 students of which 51 were girls. He also gained the competency to write 100 words a minute in short-hand.

Occupation

Journalist, TV Presenter, Editor, Writer, Reality TV Personality

Family

  • Father – Vincent Eamonn O’Meara (Dentist)
  • Mother – Gabrielle Georgina Sybille née Oliver
  • Siblings – Jeremy Pughe-Morgan (Older Brother) (Director Army Institutional Advisory Team at Resolute Support, Bath, UK / Served the British Army for nearly 33 years)
  • Others – Rupert Pughe-Morgan (Younger Half-Brother) (General Manager, The Griffin Inn, East Sussex, UK), Charlotte Pughe-Morgan (Younger Half-Sister), Anthony Glynne Pughe-Morgan (Stepfather) (Owner of a pub and a meat distribution business), Matthew Dudgeon Oliver (Maternal Grandfather), Edith Margot Cantopher (Maternal Grandmother), Patrick Tomlinson (Brother-in-law, Charlotte’s Husband) (Group Head Security, Business Continuity & Crisis Management at Rothschild & Company)

Manager

Piers is represented by –

  • James Grant Group Ltd., London, United Kingdom
  • John Ferriter, The Alternative, Los Angeles, California, United States

Build

Average

Height

6 ft 1 in or 185.5 cm

Weight

97 kg or 214 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Piers has dated –

  • Marion Shalloe (1991–2001) – Piers married a nurse, Marion in 1991. Together they have 3 sons named Spencer Morgan (b. July 1993), Stanley Morgan (b. June 1997) and Albert aka Bertie Morgan (b. 2000). The journalist separated from his wife shortly after the birth of his third son. Their separation lasted for more than 7 years. They got divorced in 2008.
  • Marina Hyde (2001–2005) – Piers developed an affair with The Guardian columnist, Marina Hyde in 2000. Marina is the daughter of conservative politician Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams who got married to BBC Broadcasting Executive, Kieran Oliver Edward Clifton in 1999. A series of inappropriate and s*xual emails exchanged between Piers and Marina were made public that caused the breakdown of the journalist’s first marriage. The couple’s extra-marital affair ended by 2005 and Marina continued with her marriage to her husband. She has 2 children born in 2010 and 2014.
  • Celia Walden (2006–Present) – Piers first met Celia who is a journalist, novelist, and a critic, in 2006 when he interviewed her for GQ magazine. She is the daughter of Conservative MP George Walden and previously dated chef Jean-Christophe Novelli. The couple got married in a private ceremony in the village of Swinbrook in Oxfordshire, England in June 2010. Together they have a daughter named Elise Morgan (b. 25 November 2011).

    • Race / Ethnicity

    White

    He has Irish ancestry on his father’s side and Irish, Scottish, English and 1/16th Portuguese ancestry on his mother’s side.

    Hair Color

    Light Brown

    Due to his advancing age, his hair has turned ‘Salt and Pepper’.

    Eye Color

    Blue

    Sexual Orientation

    Straight

    Distinctive Features

    • Slightly hunched, square shoulders
    • Deep set eyes with drooping eyelids
    • Tall height

    Religion

    Roman Catholicism

    Best Known For

    • His stint as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent (2007–2010), Britain’s Got More Talent (2007–2011) and America’s Got Talent (2006–2015)
    • Winning Celebrity Apprentice in 2008 which was the 7th season overall of The Apprentice series hosted by Donald Trump
    • Grabbing the slot as a talk show host of Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014) after Larry King retired from CNN’s most-watched and longest-running talk show Larry King Live (1985–2010)

    First Film

    He made his theatrical film debut as himself in the political comedy The Campaign in 2012 alongside Will Ferrell.

    First TV Show

    He made his TV show debut as a guest in an episode of the talk show The Word in 1992.

    Personal Trainer

    • Piers started waking up at 4:45 am ever since in 2015 he became a presenter on the breakfast show of ITV network’s Good Morning Britain that lasts from 6:00 am to 8:30 am. He splits his breakfast into 2 mini-meals that he consumes at 5:30 am and 9:00 am. The journalist is very casual about getting his daily exercise and usually follows a sedentary routine. In case he feels bothered by his body weight, he goes for a swim or a spin class at 10:00 am followed by a nap before lunch.
    • During his stay in the United States, he likes to attend SoulCycle. During his stint in Britain’s Got Talent, Piers started taking personal training sessions several times a week for the fear of the growing popularity of HD widescreen televisions in most households that highlight physical imperfections. But, the TV presenter also admitted that he has a ravenous appetite and his love for consuming the best food and wine far exceeds his interest in maintaining his fitness
    • He does not follow any restrictive eating patterns and eats his lunch by 1:00 pm and dinner by 7:00 pm. Piers likes to visit a pub or a bar every day in the evening around 6:00 pm usually for a pint of beer.
    • The journalist confessed on TV that he is well aware of being overweight by more than a stone but does not want to live a physically grueling and disciplined lifestyle similar to the routine of many Hollywood actors to stay in shape. Piers enjoys non-vegetarian food and detests the vegan versions of popular non-vegetarian products sold by corporate food chains. He often gets into a debate with people who try to impose veganism as a way of life on others.

    Piers Morgan Favorite Things

    • Sports Team – Arsenal Football Club
    • Beach Resort – Carlisle Bay Hotel, Antigua
    • Place In The British Isles – The East Sussex village of Newick
    • Travelling Companions – His children and his wife, Celia
    • Travel Tip – Go light on clothes and heavy on technology, carry all the right chargers
    • Holiday Type – Peace and quiet at a beach
    • Holiday Reading – Biographies such as Michael Wolff’s biography of Rupert Murdoch, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life (2008)
    • Vacation Spot – Antigua and South of France
    • TV Show – Spooks (2002–2011), The West Wing (1999–2006)
    • Hotels – The Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles, Carlisle Bay in Antigua, Baros in the Maldives
    • City – Paris for romance, New York for energy, LA for work, and London for friends
    • Place For A Stroll – Cornish coast on a windy but sunny day
    • Place For A Swim – Blue sea in Antigua
    • Guilty Pleasure – Monte Cristo No.2 cigars every 2 or 3 months
    • Place For A Drive – Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles listening to Aerosmith while driving his Aston Martin convertible
    • Shops – Waterstones for books and greetings cards, LOFT Design By in Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London, Daniel Galvin Salon for a haircut
    • Restaurant – Cambio de Tercio in London
    • Restaurant Dishes – Plateaux de Fruits de Mer at Balthazar (in New York City), Steak at CUT by Chef Wolfgang Puck in Beverly Wilshire

    Source – Wikipedia, Independent, Standard, The Guardian

    Piers Morgan Facts

  • His biological father died when he was an infant.
  • Piers took his stepfather’s last name but dropped the first half ‘Pughe’ in 1988.
  • He was named after the British racing driver, Piers Courage.
  • The TV presenter was drawn to the English language and reading at a very early age. He started reading newspapers at the age of 7. As he grew older, he developed an interest in non-fiction books particularly biographies of successful people.
  • In high school, the journalist would often win prizes for his cursive handwriting. But, he shared that as an adult, his handwriting has gone bad.
  • In 1985, he bagged his first job as a reporter for the South London News and the Streatham and Tooting News.
  • In 1994, Rupert Murdoch hired Piers to work as the editor of News of the World which, at the age of 29 made him the youngest newspaper editor of a national British publication in 50 years.
  • While serving as the editor of Daily Mirror in 1996, Piers allowed the publication of an antagonistic headline Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over above a photo of England’s players, Paul Gascoigne and Stuart Pearce in superimposed World War II helmets a day before England and Germany faced each other in the semi-final of Euro Cup ’96. He had to apologize on national television for the error of judgment.
  • During the journalism course, Piers supported himself financially by working as lumberjack logging trees and bagging mushrooms.
  • Piers was fired from his Daily Mirror editorship in 2004 after he refused to apologize for publishing fake images of British soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners related to the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
  • In May 2006, he launched First News, Britain’s first national newspaper for children meant for 7-14-year-old readers.
  • In 2003, Piers made fun of President George W. Bush for falling off a Segway. After a few years, the TV presenter got a taste of karma when he fell off the Segway himself in 2007 and broke 3 ribs.
  • Piers was declared the overall winner of all the Celebrity Apprentice seasons hosted by Donald Trump for raising the maximum amount of money.
  • In December 2018, he applied for the job of White House Chief of Staff, but Donald Trump selected Mick Mulvaney in January 2019.
  • Throughout his long career, Piers got into hostile feuds with fellow journalists and public figures some of whom are Ian Hislop, Jeremy Clarkson, Janet Mock, and Ewan McGregor. He banned Madonna, Hugh Grant, Kelsey Grammer, and Les Dennis from making an appearance on his show, Good Morning Britain (2015-2021).
  • He is the author of 8 books, 4 of which are memoirs.
  • The TV presenter has repeatedly been accused of authorizing phone hacking of public figures during his tenure as editor of Daily Mirror, but the journalist continues to deny any knowledge of the same.
  • His Good Morning Britain (2015-2021) co-host, Kate Garraway revealed that Piers’s mother often scolds him via text if he ever acts too mean on the show.
  • While watching Piers during an ITV documentary, a viewer, Gillian Nuttall, spotted an odd blemish below the TV presenter’s neck and got in touch to advise getting it checked. Morgan got the mark removed that he later found out had the potential to become cancerous.
  • He is a close friend of music mogul, Simon Cowell.
  • He quit Good Morning Britain in March 2021 after he made comments (which received 41,000 complaints) on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex after the US airing of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview.
  • In December 2022, his Twitter account was hacked and the hacker threatened to release private conversations that he’s had with celebrities.
  • In June 2023, Piers won the TRIC Award for “Interview of the Year” for his 2022 interview with Cristiano Ronaldo.

    • Featured Image by Digitas Photos / Flickr / CC BY-2.0

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