Gina Grad
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gina Grad
| image = Gina Grad 2017 (cropped).jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Gina Grad
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|05|01}}
| birth_place = Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
| education =
| alma_mater = University of Kansas
| occupation =
| employer = The Adam Carolla Show
| television =
| movement =
| spouse =
}}
Gina Grad (born May 1, 1978) is an American radio personality and voice-over artist in the United States. She hosted "Andy and Gina in the Morning"{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/california-radio-star-is-laughing-her-way-up-the-charts/|title=California radio star is laughing her way up the charts|website=The Times of Israel|author=Maayan Jaffe-Hoffmann|access-date=2019-02-09|date=2016-10-14}} weekdays on KSWD 100.3 The Sound and co-hosted The Adam Carolla Show.{{Cite web|url=http://adamcarolla.com/carolladigital/cast-and-crew/|title=The Adam Carolla Show – Cast and Crew|website=adamcarolla.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/183459/|title=Star sidekick Gina Grad on bringing Jewish flavor to radio and podcast|website=Jewish Journal|author=Jared Sichel|access-date=2019-02-09|date=2016-03-16}}
Early life and education
Grad grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, where she attended, and subsequently graduated from, Shawnee Mission South High School, and attended the University of Kansas. Gina's father was longtime sportscaster Steve Grad, who worked for Los Angeles news radio station KNX-1070 from 2006 to 2016.{{cite web|last1=Jaffe-Hoffman|first1=Maayan|title=California radio star is laughing her way up the charts|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/california-radio-star-is-laughing-her-way-up-the-charts/|website=The Times of Israel|accessdate=7 March 2017}}
Career
Grad started at the now-defunct 97.1FM KLSX in November 2006 as an overnight phone screener until landing a job on the Conway and Whitman Show (later renamed The Tim Conway Jr. Show) as producer, phone screener, nightly news girl and fill-in co-host.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
After KLSX flipped formats from talk to music (97.1 KAMP) in February 2009, Tim Conway Jr., Brian Whitman, former KLSX producer and board-op Randy Wang (Ryan Wong) and Grad started a short-lived podcast called "The Bobsled". When that ended, Gina and Randy started "The Pretty Good Podcast" which aired daily weekdays from May 2009 to February 2015. The show was later shortened to "The PGP". They took another version of their show, "The Gina and Randy Show" to Frank Kramer's{{Cite news|url=http://dishnation.com/frank-kramer/|title=Frank Kramer - Dish Nation {{!}} Entertaining Entertainment News|date=2014-05-01|newspaper=Dish Nation {{!}} Entertaining Entertainment News|access-date=2017-02-16|language=en-US}} Toad Hop Network,{{Cite web|url=http://toadhopnetwork.com/|title=ToadHopNetwork.com|last=Network|first=Toad Hop|website=toadhopnetwork.com|access-date=2017-02-16}} which was recorded at his home studio, then at the former Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal City Walk.{{Cite web|url=http://insideuniversal.net/2014/11/the-jon-lovitz-comedy-club-has-closed/|title=The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club Has Closed – Inside Universal|website=insideuniversal.net|date=5 November 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-16}}
Grad took a job at KFI am640 in November 2009 producing Gary Hoffmann's Sunday morning show and fill-in producing for the Bill Handel Show. She also helped launch The Bill Carroll Show as associate producer and "stunt girl," as well as guest-hosting for The John and Ken Show with her podcast co-host Randy Wang.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
Grad also made regular appearances on The Young Turks online news network between 2013 and 2015, presenting news stories and weighing in as a guest panelist on "The Main Show," The Point with Ana Kasparian and The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin.
In February 2015, Grad began on the now-defunct 100.3FM 'The Sound' KSWD (First as co-host of Mark in the Morning with Mark Thompson of "Mark and Brian" fame and then hosted the music-intensive morning show "Andy and Gina in the Morning" with co-host Andy Chanley). A couple of months after starting at her job at 'The Sound', she joined The Adam Carolla Show, joining Bryan Bishop, covering the news and serving as co-host. She and Bishop left the program in January 2023. Now that 100.3 The Sound is defunct,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/15/the-sound-100-3-fm-is-set-to-go-off-the-air-for-good-at-1-p-m-thursday/|title=The Sound 100.3 FM is set to go off the air for good at 1 p.m. Thursday|website=Orange Count Register|author=Peter Larsen|access-date=2019-02-09|date=2017-11-15}} Grad no longer hosts a morning radio program, although in 2020 she returned to LA radio as news anchor for The Tim Conway Jr. Show.{{cite tweet|number=1230337778300309505|user=ConwayShow|title=Please welcome the lovely & talented @GinaGrad as the #Conwayshows #NewsAnchor #yay @KFIAM640 |date=20 February 2020}}
With Teresa Strasser, Grad hosted a podcast [https://twitter.com/EasyListeningTG Easy Listening] With Gina and Teresa on PodcastOne from April 2019 to Nov 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/gina-grad-teresa-strasser-podsoup-podcast-adam-carolla/amp/|title=Current and Former Adam Carolla News Girls Gina Grad and Teresa Strasser to Launch New Podcast|website=The Wrap|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-08|date=2019-02-08}}{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/show/0f3t93OzzlyEiSfcEssMD6|title=Episode listing for "Easy Listening With Gina and Teresa" on Spotify|website=Spotify|language=en-US|access-date=2024-11-29|date=2024-11-29}}
Gina now is a permanent member of The Woody Show on Alt 98.7.
= Voice over =
Grad is known in the video gaming community for voicing Rose in Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V. She has also voiced games and series like Syndicate, Technolyze, Paranoia Agent,{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/paranoia-agent/cast/|title=Paranoia Agent|last=TV.com|website=TV.com|access-date=2017-02-16}} Ergo Proxy,{{Cite web|url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Gina-Grad/|title=Gina Grad|website=Behind The Voice Actors|access-date=2017-02-16}} Connected and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria.
= Awards =
Grad received the 2016 Reelworld Rising Star Award{{Cite web|url=http://www.themorningmouth.com/Jockline7.26.16.html|title=Untitled Document|website=www.themorningmouth.com|access-date=2017-02-17}} and is the 2017 recipient of the Excellence in Radio Award through the Alliance for Women in Media.{{Cite web|url=http://www.awmsocal.org/|title=Alliance for Women in Media, Southern California Affiliate - Home|website=www.awmsocal.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-16}}
Personal
Grad is Jewish and was raised as a conservative. On September 26, 2021, Grad married LA writer and producer Andy Harris.
In early 2016, Grad teamed up with a representative from The Hugging Angels Foundation{{Cite web|url=http://www.huggingangelsfoundation.org/home.aspx|title=Hugging Angels Foundation|website=www.huggingangelsfoundation.org|access-date=2017-02-16}} by spearheading an on-air campaign to help a teenage girl battling Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma attend her dream prom.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Twitter|GinaGrad}}
- {{anime News Network|name|22578}}
- [http://www.crystalacids.com/database/person/1642/gina-grad/ Gina Grad] at Crystal Acids Voice Actor Database
- {{IMDb name|1695968}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grad, Gina}}
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Jewish American actresses
Category:People from Overland Park, Kansas