As a young girl living in Sunnyside, Washington, Kristina Guerrero would spend many nights glued to “Entertainment Tonight,” the CBS television news show on all things pop culture. She was certain that becoming a reporter and discovering upcoming trends was exactly what she wanted to do. Since then, Guerrero has never looked back.
After she graduated from high school, Guerrero packed her belongings and left behind her native Washington for the University of Southern California to study broadcast journalism. As she prepared for college, Guerrero faced criticism from people who didn’t think she’d make it far.
However, she knew she would.
Guerrero began her career as an intern for LA’s FOX KTTV, where she logged endless tape and ran errands. After she graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in broadcast journalism, Guerrero landed a gig as co-host of a relationship talk show on SiTV network, which marked the beginning of her on-air career. Afterwards, Guerrero moved to Texas and hosted her own CBS morning talk show, titled “Great Day S.A.” for a few years. She later found herself back in California, where she worked as an entertainment correspondent for “Inside Edition.” The budding journalist’s dreams were becoming a reality. Since then, the 29-year-old has worked her way up the entertainment news scale and about a year ago, made history by becoming the first-ever Latina host of E! News, recognized as one of the top celebrity resources in the nation.
For the first time, Guerrero speaks exclusively with nocheLatina about her love for entertainment, working in front of the camera, and even reveals which celebrity she likes to call “uncle.”
nocheLatina: I understand you began your career at LA’s FOX KTTV as an intern. What was that experience like?
Kristina Guerrero: It was a great experience- I got a chance to do all kinds of grunt work. I ran a lot of errands, but I befriended an entertainment reporter there so after I finished all my work, I got to see her interview people. She would take me out on assignments with her.
nocheLatina: As an intern, did you ever think you would end up where you are today?
Kristina Guerrero: Absolutely. What I mean by that is I got into internships really young and knew this is exactly what I wanted to do. I knew that I had to get my foot in the door and ask a lot of questions because I wanted to be great as a reporter. The only way I could do that was to work my way up.
nocheLatina: After you graduated from the University of Southern California, you landed a gig as co-host of ‘The Rub,’ a relationship talk show on SiTV network. Describe your experience.
Kristina Guerrero: First of all, it was a dream come true. I spent a long time getting coffee and checking the machines for paper, escorting talent, whatever they needed. Now I was doing what I had set out to do, to host a TV show. It was the beginning of my on-air career. Having the opportunity to work for SiTV was great. Being host of a show that was crazy, silly, funny, and serious while sending out a great message was one of the highlights of my life.
nocheLatina: I understand you’re the first Latina to work as a regular correspondent for E! News. How does that make you feel?
Kristina Guerrero: It’s about time, right? You know what, I love being able to represent my culture, to have my story told, from where I came from and all this adversity I had, in a show that speaks to my generation about entertainment. I’m honored to be able to do that- to be that role model.
nocheLatina: Did you always knew you wanted to be a TV show host?
Kristina Guerrero: Ever since I was little, I’ve been watching ‘Entertainment Tonight.’ I just have this love affair with television and entertainment news. I always knew I wanted to do that. All those journalists out there, making a change in the world, the hard-core journalists, I admire them. But I set out to also have a great time. It was a perfect fit for me to be an entertainment news reporter.
nocheLatina: What, in your experience, has been the greatest challenge thus far in your career?
Kristina Guerrero: The thing for me, what’s been so great for me, is that a long time ago, I set out to make my dreams come true. So many people discouraged me and said I couldn’t do it. I truly believed that I deserved it and I could do it. Against all odds, I kind of went off on my own, followed my own path, and made my dreams come true. Sometimes I kind of just stop and I think, ‘I did it. I’m living my dream.’
nocheLatina: From what you have seen and reported, is the entertainment industry as glamorous as it seems?
Kristina Guerrero: No, it’s not. It’s…you know what, it’s a lot of hard work- a lot of hard work goes into it. I’m so lucky that I have stylists that make me beautiful and wonderful, but there are a lot of hot days. It’s really difficult. But I don’t ever like to take away from the romanticized idea of Hollywood. It is a lot of hard work, there’s a lot that goes into it.
nocheLatina: I understand you hosted your own CBS morning talk show, ‘Great Day S.A.’ in San Antonio, Texas.
Kristina Guerrero: Yeah, I was the main host of that show for three years, every single morning, Monday through Friday. They brought me in when I was 24, a year out of college. They saw I had a lot of tenacity and a ‘go-get-em’ kind of thing. They cast me to host and carry the show. It was the foundation that I needed to be a host. San Antonio is a beautiful city; I call it my adopted home. The people there and the city itself took care of me while I was there. I would do pie eating contests, anything that I could do to make TV.
nocheLatina: Is there a difference between your experience hosting in Texas versus Los Angeles?
Kristina Guerrero: The biggest difference, obviously, is that in San Antonio, I hosted a show locally, which reached several hundreds of thousands of people. I come to Hollywood, I’m doing E!, and it reaches countries all over the world- millions of people. But the great thing about local TV is, you have so much more reign and it’s a smaller group of people just trying to make a show on-air every morning. But with a show like E!, you have much more resources.
nocheLatina: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Kristina Guerrero: One of the highlights, probably every time, is just the moments by myself when I look around and see what I’ve accomplished. I’m sitting here in my life, in my dream, living it.
nocheLatina: How do you feel when the interview roles are reversed. For example, in this case- I’m asking the questions and you’re answering.
Kristina Guerrero: I’ve gotten a little bit better, but when I first started getting interviewed, I would always switch the interview around and ask the interviewer questions. It’s amazing to me that people care about me- they want to know a little bit about me.
nocheLatina: Do you have a favorite celebrity?
Kristina Guerrero: George Lopez. He’s my hero.
nocheLatina: Why?
Kristina Guerrero: I just kind of feel like he’s my uncle, he’s like me. We both set off to be in Hollywood and I see him, on the red carpet, doing what he does, and say ‘Yeah! You achieved your dream!’ He’s my culture, where I come from.
nocheLatina: What are your hobbies?
Kristina Guerrero: I work, work, work, and then work some more. I enjoy hiking and running.
nocheLatina: What does your family think of your success thus far?
Kristina Guerrero: When I was 19 and packed up for Hollywood, they looked at me like I was absolutely insane. They’re so proud of me.
nocheLatina: Do you have an ultimate goal in life?
Kristina Guerrero: My ultimate goal is to just continue doing what I’m doing, to make decisions on my own terms. If I come to a situation where I’m not happy doing something, I won’t be staying there for long. I just want to constantly be grateful and love what I do.
