Olivia Ward

Last updated

Olivia Ward
Born
Olivia Curlee

(1975-10-23) October 23, 1975 (age 48)
Pascagoula, Mississippi
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Cycle instructor and website manager [1]
Known forThe Biggest Loser Winner
Website http://myfitspiration.com

Olivia Ward (born October 23, 1975) is an American reality television personality and the winner of season 11 of The Biggest Loser , [2] [3] [4] [5] which was the fourth season of couples on the TV reality show. Ward competed on the purple team alongside her sister, Hannah Curlee, in which they became the final two together. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

She was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She is the eldest of four siblings. [6] Her family subsequently moved to Houston, Texas, where she attended Langham Creek High School though her junior year. She spent her senior year at, and graduated from, Baker High School in Mobile County, Alabama in 1994. Ward earned a degree in vocal performance from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1998. She earned master's degrees in voice and in opera performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts in 2002. [2]

Career

Ward has worked as a manager at a plastic surgery office. [4]

The Biggest Loser

Ward's motivation for being on The Biggest Loser was the fact that her weight, which had climbed to over 261 pounds, combined with a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, meant she would likely never have children if she didn't lose a significant amount of weight. [7] She felt her obesity was a reason she had not received many opera singing roles. [3] Her teammate was her sister Hannah Curlee, [4] who is three years younger than she. Ward won the Biggest Loser Season 11 on May 24, 2011 and Hannah placed second. [5]

Other

As of 2018, Ward is an Atlanta-based Senior Instructor at SoulCycle. [1] [8] [9]

As of 2013, Ward operates a website called MyFitspiration.com. [8]

Opera

Ward was a mezzo-soprano opera singer. Ward's operatic work includes appearances with Ash-Lawn Highland Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Las Vegas Opera, Mobile Opera, Nashville Opera Association, and Nevada Opera. She appeared in the Music City Community Chorus and in their Operalooza! in Nashville, Tennessee. She appeared in the Nashville Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera.[ citation needed ] By 2007, she had begun attracting regional operatic and orchestral attention. [2] Ward played Mrs. Baines in the opera Elmer Gantry .

Personal life

She currently resides in Atlanta with her husband Ben, whom she married soon after she graduated from college in 1998. [6]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "New York City News: Latest Headlines, Videos & Pictures". am New York. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Olivia Ward". Music City Community Chorus. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "About The Biggest Loser". WHO TV. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Huff, Richard (December 14, 2010). "'The Biggest Loser Couples' returns with Jillian Michaels, two new trainers and an opera singer". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "'Biggest Loser' Exclusive — Winner Olivia Ward… Half My Weight!". OK Magazine. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Olivia Ward". Buddy TV. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Biggest Loser 2011: Olivia Ward". TV Grapevine. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  8. 1 2 "#MotivationMonday! How Biggest Loser Winner Olivia Ward & Runner Up Hannah Curlee Are Keeping The Weight Off". March 25, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Olivia - SoulCycle Instructor". www.soul-cycle.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Sweeney</span> American actress (born 1976)

Alison Ann Sweeney is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, a role she played under contract with the show from January 6, 1993 to October 30, 2014. In this role, she earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination, four Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Fan Voted Daytime Emmy Award. After making sporadic appearances since then, she returned as a series regular in 2021. In 2007, she became the host of The Biggest Loser in its fourth season, and left the series at the end of the 16th season in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodion Shchedrin</span> Soviet and Russian composer and pianist

Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain.

Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contemporary. Many composers, including Henri Dutilleux, Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Adams, and Kaija Saariaho, have written for her. In 2007, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

<i>The Biggest Loser</i> (American TV series) American competition reality TV series

The Biggest Loser is an American competition reality show that initially ran on NBC for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2016 before moving to USA Network in 2020. The show features obese or overweight contestants competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jillian Michaels</span> American personal trainer (born 1974)

Jillian Michaels is an American fitness expert, certified nutritionist, businesswoman, media personality, and author. She is best known for her appearances on NBC series such as The Biggest Loser. She has also made an appearance on the talk show The Doctors. In 2015, she hosted and co-judged a series on Spike titled Sweat, INC. In 2016, her reality television series Just Jillian premiered on E!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Young</span> Australian conductor

Simone Margaret Young AM is an Australian conductor and academic teacher. She is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The Biggest Loser is an Australian reality television show, based on the original American version of the same name. It is produced by Shine Australia and screened on Network Ten. Since 2015, the show has been hosted by former contestant Fiona Falkiner, It was formerly hosted by Ajay Rochester from 2006 to 2009 & former Olympian Hayley Lewis from 2010 to 2014. The show debuted on 13 February 2006, followed by a second season on 4 February 2007 which introduced Michelle Bridges, Shannan Ponton and Steve Willis. The third season began airing on 3 February 2008. A fourth season, which features couples competing as teams, started airing on 1 February 2009. A fifth season, which aired on 31 January 2010, featuring former Olympic swimmer Hayley Lewis as the new host, and in 2011 the show introduced the new trainer Tiffiny Hall. In its eleventh season, the show introduced new trainer Libby Babet. The show did not return in 2018 due to low ratings.

Ajay Rochester is an Australian actress, author and producer. She was the host of the Australian version of reality weight-loss television series The Biggest Loser, for which she hosted a total of four series between 2006 and 2009.

Deborah Joy Voigt is an American dramatic soprano who has sung roles in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss.

Jodie Christine Prenger is an English actress and singer, best known for winning the second series of The Biggest Loser in 2006 and the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything in 2008, the latter of which subsequently launched her career in theatre. In 2022, she began portraying the role of Glenda Shuttleworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Alison "Ali" Vincent is the winner of the fifth United States season of the fitness reality television show The Biggest Loser, which aired in early 2008. Vincent's in-competition weight loss of 112 pounds earned her a $250,000 prize, and the first win by a female of a United States The Biggest Loser season. Vincent is to be featured as a spokeswoman in print and television advertisements for fitness center chain 24 Hour Fitness, Biggest Loser ProteinG manufactured by Designer Whey and Infinity Insurance.

The Biggest Loser is a reality television format which started with the American TV show The Biggest Loser in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. There are different variations of The Biggest Loser around the world. Each country has made its own adaptation of the show; however, the contestants always have the same goal: to lose the highest percentage of weight to become the "biggest loser". There is no minimum or maximum weight limit for the show but most males tend to weigh over or near 300 lb (136 kg). Females tend to weigh over or near 200 lb (91 kg).

Erik Chopin is the winner of The Biggest Loser in 2006.

The Biggest Loser Brunei is a Bruneian reality television show that began broadcasting on BNC in 2010. The show is an adaptation of the American reality TV show The Biggest Loser. It features a host and personal trainers who help the contestants lose weight. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight.

The Biggest Loser: Couples 4 is the eleventh season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to Olivia Ward, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight loss. It premiered on January 4, 2011. Along with existing trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, two new trainers will be featured who were revealed in Week 3. One of the featured contestants is Rulon Gardner, a former gold medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics. It was the longest season in Biggest Loser history at 20 weeks long. This season is the second, after Pay It Forward, to be filmed in high definition. This season marks the first time in USA Biggest Loser history that a contestant left the show by choice. As well, for the first time in The Biggest Loser history, a couple has made the finale together. And, for the first time in The Biggest Loser history, all 3 finalists are women.

The Biggest Loser: Battle of the Ages is the twelfth season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to John Rhode, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight lost. It premiered on September 20, 2011. Along with existing trainer Bob Harper, two new trainers joined this season. The 15 contestants this season were divided into three groups of five by their ages: those who are 30 and under were initially trained by Quince, those who are between 31–49 were initially trained by Harper, and those who are 50 and over were initially trained by Kournikova. This season marked the first time since season 5 that America did not have to vote on who would become a finalist. For the first time ever in Biggest Loser history, all 3 finalists were men.

The Biggest Loser: Challenge America is the fourteenth season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants will compete to win a $250,000 prize, which will be awarded to the contestant with the highest percentage of weight lost. It premiered on January 6, 2013. Alongside veteran trainer Bob Harper and returning trainer Dolvett Quince, Jillian Michaels returned for the first time since season 11. While the contestants have been split into three teams, White (Jillian), Blue (Bob), and Red (Dolvett), the contestants may train with any of the three trainers. In addition, three younger contestants are participating, but not subject to elimination. This was the first time since season 11 that America decided who made it to the live finale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoulCycle</span> American fitness company

SoulCycle Inc. is a fitness company owned by Equinox Group which offers indoor cycling and spinning workout classes. It was founded in 2006, and has operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. In early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, it operated 99 studios. The company is headquartered in the West Village in Manhattan, New York City.

Kai Hibbard is an American activist, social worker, writer, and former reality TV participant, who spoke out about the negative ways in which appearing on The Biggest Loser affected her physical and mental health, along with highlighting the research that shows it also negatively affects viewers. She is a published academic researcher, has been published on XOJane and her Cracked article inspired an off Broadway play, Taught. She has written a fictional account of weight loss reality television, that she self-published in December 2017, and speaks at conferences on the topics of body acceptance, mental health, and weight loss reality television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Brown</span> American television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder

Hannah Kelsey Brown is an American television personality, model, author and beauty pageant titleholder. Brown first gained recognition after placing in the top seven in season 23 of The Bachelor (2019). She subsequently starred as The Bachelorette in season 15 of The Bachelorette (2019). She competed on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars with Alan Bersten, and was declared the winner on November 25, 2019.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.