by Stephanie Starr • photos by Dan Peterson

Fit Radio Waves

Catch up with co-host of the KIIS FM/102.7 new morning
radio show with Ryan Seacrest, Ellen K

T
he studio light goes on. A group of six people man would be flipped on and all of Los Angeles would hear
the boards as the lights go crazy. It’s just another day her for the first time. When it happened, it just felt
in the studio of KIIS FM/102.7 were callers bombard right to Ellen. She described the energy around the
the DJs with phone requests; movie, music and room as positive and boisterous. The staff members
television stars flit in and out were genuinely having fun
of the waiting rooms; and the
former co-host of the Rick Dees “Rick has a way of making
show (and now the morning show you feel relaxed,” Ellen K
with Ryan Seacrest) Ellen K says.
entertains most of Los Angeles as
they head off to work in the Ellen was so excited to land
morning. If only they could see the job that she didn’t even
the woman they were listening to. care about the money that
Most of those drivers would would be offered.
probably crash into the car in
front of them while attempting to “I would have paid him,”
‘rubber neck.’ Ellen is definitely Ellen says.
someone who should spend more
time in front of the camera rather That night she went out
than just behind a microphone. with the staff to celebrate.
At times she admitted that
The blond bombshell known as she had to pinch herself
Ellen K first landed her big break just to make sure it was
with the Rick Dees show in the really happening. She
early 1990s thanks to producer would look at Rick across
Jack Silver catching her San the studio and think: “I’m
Francisco-based midday show on really working with Rick
X100. He asked her to send Dees. How did this happen?”
tapes in and then flew her down
to interview with Rick Dees.
Ellen K may keep a busy Soon Ellen found herself
schedule, but she always finds in the studio learning all
“I didn’t sleep the night
time to eat right and workout. she could from Rick. “I
before,” remembers Ellen. “I was learning from the
was just so excited.” master,” she said. And she made it a point to soak up
every bit of knowledge he offered. At the time Rick
For three hours she waited in Dees’ waiting room. was still doing his television show and often the radio
Then she was transferred to another waiting room. staff members were invited in to work with him at
The excited Ellen wasn’t even upset with him when he ABC. They’d appear in his skits and get to see bits of
finally invited her into the studio for a live audition. his life there as well. Ellen loved it. She had no
She knew it was a 50/50 chance that the microphone problem being referred to as a sidekick. For the

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humble girl who started her radio career in Indiana, this
was a dream come true. That didn’t mean, however, that
she held back with Rick.

“I’m the one,” laughs Ellen, “that gets to spank Rick

when he gets out of line.”

As a member of the Rick Dees show, Ellen K often

found herself among some of Hollywood and
music’s most famous starts. Her all time favorite,
she said, would be Henry Winkler who was very
nice to her. He just showed up and was friendly
to everyone and had a great time.

Now that Rick Dees is leaving the air, Ellen

will have a new co-host. While she is sad to

“I’m the one that gets

to spank Rick when
he gets out of line.”

see her days with Rick in the studiocome

to an end, she is excited about her new gig
as co-host of the morning show with
American Idol icon Ryan Seacrest.

With all the action going on in Ellen’s life, it

isn’t hard to see how she stays in such great
shape. She’s up at the break of dawn and in the
studios before many of us have even made it
out of bed. But aside from her busy schedule,
Ellen takes the time to eat a healthy diet and
workout several times a week.

“I don’t eat a lot of bread, but I love to ice

cream or cookies,” Ellen confesses.
“Occasionally pancakes on the weekends,
but very rarely.”

To keep her body in shape, Ellen does power

yoga twice a week and goes to Barry’s Boot
Camp four to five days a week. Once there,
she performs an intensive treadmill and
free weight workout.

To find out more about Ellen K, check out

her website at: www.ellenk.com or tune in
to KIIS 102.7 and catch her new show
with Ryan Seacrest.
Ellen K’s Diet Plan
Breakfast: Fruit and eggs. She
doesn’t always stick to egg
whites, but eats anywhere from
3 to 4 eggs scrambled.

Lunch: Chicken breast with

veggies

Dinner: A giant salad.

Sometimes chicken with veggies
again.

Diet Tip: Because she knows

that water is important for her
digestive system and aids in
healthy hair and skin, Ellen
drinks about 3 liters of water
each day!

Fun Facts About Ellen K

1. Her last name is Norweigan and
very hard to pronounce, hence just
using “K”
2. Her cousin is Kevin Sorbo from
TV’s Hercules.
3. She is the youngest of 6
Norweigan children
4. She is the music correspondent
for the TV show Extra
5. Her husband’s name is Roy and
her son is Calvin.
6. She has an Australian Shepard
named Roxy
7. Craziest on air stunt: After
loosing a bet to Rick Dees, Ellen
had to get a tattoo on the air. Rick
found, in Ellen’s words “the
biggest, fattest, hairiest tattoo artist
in Hollywood he could find” and
then had R.D. tattooed inside a
heart on Ellen’s butt.