Host & Executive Producer

Emmy Award-winner Montel Williams begins his 13th season as host of THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW on Monday, September 8, 2003. Winner of the 1996 "Outstanding Talk Show Host" category, the show has been honored with Daytime Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Talk Show" in 2001 and 2002 and was nominated for "Outstanding Talk Show Host" in 2002. Entertaining, spontaneous and always challenging, he continues to address familial, youth and relationship issues with provocative and meaningful discussions, while maintaining his own point of view.

In addition to his daily talk show, this past season, Mr. Williams flexed his acting muscles with performances on NBC's "American Dreams," ABC's "All My Children," and in the "The Exonerated," a successful off-Broadway play which tells the true stories of six innocent survivors of death row. Mr. Williams, too, appeared in a special version of the play with Aidan Quinn and Mia Farrow in front of 900 lawyers at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Houston.

Mr. Williams began his professional career in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974, when he enlisted after graduating high school in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. After six months, he was meritoriously promoted twice, and in 1975, became the first black Marine selected to the Naval Academy Prep School who then went on to graduate from the Naval Academy. Upon graduation, he received a presidential appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. While at Annapolis, Mr. Williams studied Mandarin Chinese and graduated with a degree in General Engineering and a minor in International Security Affairs.

He was then selected as special duty intelligence officer, specializing in cryptology.

Honorably decorated, Mr. Williams has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout his varied naval career. He has been awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, two Humanitarian Service Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, two Navy Commendation Medals and two Meritorious Service Awards - the latter of which is rarely awarded twice.

Mr. Williams is also an accomplished author. His fitness title, BodyChange, a New York Times best-seller, which he co-authored with expert Wini Linguvic, outlines a 21-day program to looking and feeling better. He has also authored the New York Times Best-seller Mountain Get Out of My Way, a motivational autobiography.

When he was diagnosed with MS in 1999, Montel Williams made a pledge to use his celebrity to find a cure. Because of his unique position, he has had access to current research being conducted around the world. True to his word, he has established The Montel Williams MS Foundation to further the scientific study of MS. The goals and scope of The Montel Williams MS Foundation are to provide financial assistance to select organizations and institutions conducting research, to raise national awareness, and to educate the public. Currently, 100% of non-corporate donations the foundation receives go directly to funding MS research. Remaining committed to his roots as a motivational speaker, Mr. Williams continues to reach out to groups across the country with messages of hope and empowerment.
Putting his own words into action, he has given back through electrifying commencement speeches at notable schools such as Lehigh University, Southern Connecticut State, and Western Connecticut State University.

One of Mr. Williams' key beliefs is that success is determined by what you give back to others, which is why he has worked actively with charitable organizations, including the AFS Edge Program which offers scholarships for disadvantaged youth to study abroad; Make A Wish Foundation; The Humane Society of the United States; The Joey DiPaolo AIDS Foundation; The Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund; and The Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth. He currently serves as a Board Member for the We Are Family Foundation, and is an Ambassador to Nelson Mandela's My Acre of Africa program.

In 2002, Mr. Williams served as an Olympic Torch Bearer at the Winter Olympic Games. He also assisted in coordinating the star-studded "We Are Family" video and documentary for the We Are Family Foundation, for which he also acts as a board member.

Mr. Williams has four children ages eight to nineteen and resides in New York City.

THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW is a Mountain Movers production in association with Paramount Domestic Television. Montel Williams and Diane Rappoport are executive producers.