Kari Byron

Last updated

Kari Byron
Kari Byron at Comicon 2010 crop.jpg
Byron in 2010
Born
Kari Elizabeth Byron

(1974-12-18) December 18, 1974 (age 49)
Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
Alma mater San Francisco State University
Occupation(s)Television host and co-founder EXPLR Media
Years active2003–present
Television
Spouse
Paul Urich
​
​
(m. 2006;div. 2020)​
Children1
Website karibyron.com

Kari Elizabeth Byron [1] (born December 18, 1974) is an American television host, best known for her role on the MythBusters and White Rabbit Project series.

Contents

Byron was born in the Bay Area, California and graduated from San Francisco State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in film and sculpture. Byron was a cast member of MythBusters from 2004 to 2014 where she was part of "The Build Team". From 2010 to 2011, Byron hosted Head Rush , aimed at science education and teens, and Large, Dangerous Rocket Ships. From 2011 to 2014, she presented Punkin Chunkin on the Science Channel. She co-hosted Netflix's White Rabbit Project in 2016 and Crash Test World in 2019. Byron is also the co-founder of EXPLR Media, an education streaming service. Outside of television, Byron is an artist and author. She wrote a memoir titled Crash Test Girl in 2018.

Early life

Byron was born in the Bay Area, California. She graduated from Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California, and studied at San Francisco State University, graduating in May 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in film and sculpture. [2] She spent the following year backpacking, primarily in South Asia, and was involved in a number of art projects. [3]

Career

MythBusters

MythBusters Tory Belleci, Byron, Jamie Hyneman, Grant Imahara, and Adam Savage in 2012. Mythbusters (7613445734) (cropped).jpg
MythBusters Tory Belleci, Byron, Jamie Hyneman, Grant Imahara, and Adam Savage in 2012.

Byron was a cast member on MythBusters from 2004 to 2014. Along with fellow cast members Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara she was part of what is commonly referred to as "The Build Team" or B Team. This Build Team worked with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to test the plausibility of various myths throughout their tenure with the show. [4] She and the others also hosted their own segments. She became involved in the show after persistently showing up at Hyneman's M5 Industries workshop in a desire to get hired by his company. She and the other Build Team members were given a more prominent role beginning with the show's second season. Not having had a long history in show business, Byron at first found it difficult to act naturally with this more visible position but gradually became more accustomed to it. [5]

During the second half of the 2009 season, Byron was on maternity leave and was temporarily replaced by Jessi Combs. [6] From 2010–2011, Byron had her own show, Head Rush , on the Science Channel, geared toward science education and teens. [7] [8]

Byron has also hosted the 2010 and 2011 editions of Large, Dangerous Rocket Ships for the Science Channel. She and Belleci made a guest appearance on the October 3, 2012, episode of the Discovery series Sons of Guns . They test-fired some of the weapons in the Red Jacket shop and watched as the staff re-tested a myth previously busted by the Build Team: that a propane tank could explode if struck by a bullet. She left the show in 2014.

Byron and Belleci hosted coverage of Punkin Chunkin on the Science Channel from 2011 to 2014. [9] In 2015, Byron and Belleci hosted Thrill Factor, a new show for the Travel Channel. [10]

Looking back on her time on MythBusters, she says that she made lifelong connections with the cast and crew. Specifically, she said, "I made family with these people, I take them everywhere I go." [11]

White Rabbit Project

Byron, along with Imahara and Belleci, hosted the Netflix production White Rabbit Project , [12] released on Netflix on December 9, 2016. The series focused on unusual aspects from history and pop culture. [13]

Crash Test World

Byron during filming for Crash Test World in Hudson Yards, Manhattan Crash Test World NYC Hudson Yards.jpg
Byron during filming for Crash Test World in Hudson Yards, Manhattan

Byron is currently host of the series Crash Test World . [14] The first season of six episodes aired on Science Channel starting January 8, 2021. [15] [16] [17]

EXPLR Media

Byron is currently the co-founder of EXPLR Media, an education streaming service. [18] [19] [20] "I want our audience to be able to look at every show that we do and find somebody that looks like them." (Byron) [21]

Shell

Byron started doing informational videos for Shell plc in 2023. [22]

Personal life

Byron married artist Paul Urich in March 2006. They have a daughter. [23] On June 26, 2019, Byron petitioned for separation from Urich and their marriage was dissolved on March 20, 2020. [24]

She was previously a vegetarian, but now describes herself as pescetarian. [25]

Byron continues to create art, including paintings created by igniting gunpowder. [26] In 2018 she published a memoir Crash Test Girl, with HarperOne. [27] Byron is credited with creating the original cover art, and providing interior art, for canvas: poems (Viewless Wings Press, 2021), using the black powder technique. [28]

In Crash Test Girl, Byron states she has "contended with severe bouts of depression" since she was twelve. She states she has depressive episodes "a few times a year"; in addition, she had postpartum depression, more severe than her normal depression, for six months after her daughter was born. [29]

Related Research Articles

<i>MythBusters</i> Science entertainment television program

MythBusters is a science entertainment television series developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internationally by many television networks and other Discovery channels worldwide. The show's original hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, used elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punkin chunkin</span> Sport of hurling a pumpkin mechanically

Punkin chunkin or pumpkin chucking is the sport of hurling a pumpkin by mechanical means for distance. The devices used include slingshots, catapults, centrifugals, trebuchets, and pneumatic (air) cannons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Savage</span> American television host and special effects artist

Adam Whitney Savage is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host, with Jamie Hyneman, of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters and Unchained Reaction. His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and The Matrix Reloaded. He hosts the TV program Savage Builds, which premiered on the Science Channel on June 14, 2019. He is most active on the platform Adam Savage's Tested, which includes a website and a YouTube channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tory Belleci</span> American television personality and model maker

Salvatore Paul Belleci is an American television personality and model maker, best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program MythBusters. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on films including Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The Federation battleships and podracers are some of Belleci's pieces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M5 Industries</span> Special effects company in San Francisco

M5 Industries (M5) is a special effects company located in San Francisco, California, best known as the working lab of the TV series MythBusters. Founded in 1997 by Jamie Hyneman, it specialized in producing props for movies and television. Following the conclusion of filming the Mythbusters series, it became a research and development firm.

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments.

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show, as well as the results of the experiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Imahara</span> American engineer, roboticist, and television host (1970–2020)

Grant Masaru Imahara was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series MythBusters, on which he designed, built and operated numerous robots and machines to test myths over the course of the show.

Deadblow is a combat robot that was built and driven by Grant Imahara. It competed on BattleBots in the middleweight division using a fast pneumatic hammer as its weapon. Deadblow won two rumbles and was ranked second among middleweights, after Hazard. Afterwards, it was used by Imahara to help in some experiments on the television series MythBusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleve Backster</span> CIA interrogation specialist (1924–2013)

Grover Cleveland "Cleve" Backster Jr. was an interrogation specialist for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), best known for his experiments with plants using a polygraph instrument in the 1960s which led to his theory of primary perception where he claimed that plants feel pain and have extrasensory perception (ESP), which was widely reported in the media. These claims have been rejected by the scientific community.

The cast of the television series MythBusters performs experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show, as well as the results of the experiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessi Combs</span> American racer and TV personality (1980–2019)

Jessica Combs was an American professional racer, television personality, and metal fabricator. She set a women's land speed class record in 2013 and broke her own record in 2016. She was known as "the fastest woman on four wheels".

<i>Unchained Reaction</i> Television series

Unchained Reaction is a science and engineering reality game show that aired on the Discovery Channel. It was judged and executive-produced by Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, best known for hosting the science entertainment series MythBusters.

High Fidelity is an American company headquartered in San Francisco, which formerly focused on social virtual reality. As of 2020, they appear to have pivoted to 3D audio software.

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments. The 2014 season premiered on January 4, 2014, changing to a Saturday time slot. The show resumed in July, called a "new season" by the Discovery Channel. It then moved to a Thursday time slot.

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments. The 2015 season premiered on January 10, 2015, in a Saturday time slot. The first half of the season ended on February 14, after six episodes had aired. The second half of the season resumed on July 18, still in the Saturday time slot. The final episode of the second half aired on September 5, with eight episodes having aired, and a total fourteen episodes having aired in the season.

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments. The 2016 season premiered on January 2, in a Saturday time slot.

<i>White Rabbit Project</i> (TV series) Netflix series

White Rabbit Project was a Netflix series starring Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara, the build team from MythBusters, that was released on December 9, 2016. According to the official synopsis, the team investigates topics such as "jailbreaks, superpower technology, heists, and crazy World War II weapons", which they will explore through experiments, builds, and tests. Despite a positive reception, the series was cancelled by Netflix after one season.

<i>Crash Test World</i> 2021 American TV series or program

Crash Test World is a television program from ProjectExplorer starring former MythBusters host Kari Byron. It premiered on October 14, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York, and online via 5-minute excerpts. On February 20, 2020, ProjectExplorer announced that Escapade Media had sold the rights for the program in the United States and Canada to Discovery Channel. On December 22, 2020 Science Channel announced that Crash Test World would become available on January 8, 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "California Births 1905–1995". Family Tree Legends Records Collection. Pearl Street Software. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Kari Byron". Archived from the original on May 12, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  3. ↑ "SBS: MythBusters: Kari Byron". Special Broadcasting Service . Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ "MythBusters". Discovery Channel. March 23, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Mammy, Joe. "The Joe-Mammy.com interview with Kari Byron". Joe-Mammy.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Discovery Channel tweet announcing Jessi's addition to the show". July 31, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2010– via Twitter.[ non-primary source needed ]
  7. ↑ "'MythBusters' Beauty Kari Byron Talks New Series 'Head Rush'". Tvsquad.com. August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Kari Byron of 'MythBusters' Hosts 'Head Rush' on Science Channel Beginning August 23". Tvbythenumbers.com. June 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Ex-'Mythbusters' Kari Byron, Tory Belleci returning to Discovery". Entertainment Weekly. September 25, 2014. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Find the 'Thrill Factor' with former 'MythBusters' cast". CNET. August 10, 2015. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ Pereira, Alyssa. "'MythBusters' gang toasts end of greatest nerd series ever". SFGATE. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Netflix Orders White Rabbit Project Starring Mythbusters Build Team". Screen Rant. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  13. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (December 8, 2016). "Ex-'MythBusters' Attempt Mind Control in Netflix 'White Rabbit' Clip". ScreenCrush. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Kari Byron Brings West Coast Premiere of 'Crash Test World' to San Francisco". OneDubin.org. February 5, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Discovery picks up 'Crash Test World' for North America". Television Business International. February 20, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Crash Test World". Science Channel. December 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "'MythBusters' Alum Kari Byron Stars in New Series 'Crash Test World' on Science Channel (Exclusive)". popculture. December 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "EXPLR Media Aims To Grow Young People Into Empathetic Global Citizens — Co-Founder Kari Byron Joins RTM". RightThisMinute. September 22, 2021.
  19. ↑ "PureCycle Teaches Teens About Recycling on 'Everyday Science Stuff' Series". Plastics Today. January 24, 2022.
  20. ↑ "MythBusters' Kari Byron discusses future of education". The Daily Illini. October 21, 2021.
  21. ↑ "FETC: How STEM can save the world through storytelling". District Administration. January 22, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Kari Byron of Myth Buster's fame, drills a hole for herself". September 29, 2023.[ user-generated source? ]
  23. ↑ Discovery Channel US (June 29, 2009). "How about some GREAT NEWS?" . Retrieved May 13, 2010– via Twitter.[ non-primary source needed ]
  24. ↑ "KARI BYRON VS. PAUL URICH". The Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Interviews > Kari Byron". Suicide Girls. March 28, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Even after MythBusters, Kari Byron is still explosive". The Verge. December 20, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Mythbusters host Kari Byron next guest of Artist-Lecture Series". Times Record News. October 26, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Kari Byron on Creating Black Powder Art for "canvas" and EXPLR for Students". Viewless Wings. August 9, 2021.
  29. ↑ Byron, Kari (2018). Crash test girl : an unlikely experiment in using the scientific method to answer life's toughest questions (1st ed.). New York, NY. pp. 156–174. ISBN   978-0-06-274978-9. OCLC   1035306430.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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