Billie Holiday (born in Ottawa, Ontario) is the professional name of Canadian radio and television personality Amanda Dunn.
The daughter of a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Holiday first became involved in radio at the age of 15.
She later attended Humber College's TV and Film Production and Radio Broadcasting programs. She began her professional radio career at CKDX, then a marginal dance music station in Newmarket, Ontario, north of Toronto. She moved to Toronto's KISS 92.5 FM as entertainment reporter, then became full co-host of the Mad Dog and Billie morning show with the departure Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels's first partner Daryn Jones. The show continued at KISS when it transitioned to an urban contemporary format, then moved to the sister station of KISS, adult contemporary station CHFI from 2003 to 2005. After a year-long absence from the dial, Mad Dog and Billie returned to the Toronto airwaves on August 8, 2006 on MIX 99.9 FM.
She was also a reporter of the Sound Source radio network, a host of the Canadian edition of televised talent search Popstars, and co-host of Rogers Cable community series Daytime.
Also an actress, she played the character Vanessa on Showtime show Soul Food: The Series opposite Vanessa A. Williams. Billie also started 'GO' (Girls Only), a program for the Toronto District School Board to promote self-esteem to high school girls. She received the Public Education HERO Award in 2002.
She was also a host of late night TV talk show Last Call, which aired on Toronto station Toronto 1.
On July 13 2011 she was let go by the station, but co-host Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels remaining.
Holiday's marriage to lawyer Peter Luciano recently ended and she now lives in Toronto with dogs Mac and Lola.
Famous quotes containing the word holiday:
“With a broad shoehorn
I am unstuffing a big bird in this dream
Msomebody elses holiday feast
and repacking the crop of my own,
knowing it will burst with such
onion, oyster, savory bread crust.”
—Maxine Kumin (b. 1925)