Piers Morgan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Piers Morgan
Morgan in 2023
Born	Piers Stefan O'Meara (1965-03-30) 30 March 1965 (age 60) Reigate, Surrey, England
Education	Harlow College
Occupation	Broadcaster journalist writer media personality
Years active	1985–present
Employer	News of the World (1994–1995) Daily Mirror (1995–2004) First News (2006–2007) CNN (2011–2014) MailOnline (2014–2021) ITV (2007–2021) The Sun (1989–1994, 2022–) TalkTV (2022–2024)
Spouse(s)	Marion Shalloe ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 2008)​ Celia Walden ​ ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	4
Relatives	Rebecca Loos (second cousin)

Piers Morgan (born 30 March 1965) is a well-known English TV presenter, journalist, and writer. He is famous for his strong opinions and for hosting many popular TV shows.

He started his career in newspapers in 1988. By age 29, he became the youngest editor of a major British newspaper, the News of the World. Later, he edited the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Piers Morgan has also hosted big TV shows like Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV and Piers Morgan Live on CNN. Many people know him as a judge on America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent. He also co-hosted Good Morning Britain.

In 2008, he won The Celebrity Apprentice US. More recently, he hosted Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV, which later moved to YouTube.

Early Life and Education

Piers Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, England. His father passed away when Piers was very young. His mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, and Piers took his stepfather's last name.

He went to private school and then to a comprehensive secondary school. After a short time working at Lloyd's of London, he studied journalism at Harlow College. He began his career in newspapers in 1985.

Newspaper Career

Working for Rupert Murdoch (1988–1995)

Piers Morgan started working for The Sun newspaper in 1988. He became the main writer for the "Bizarre" show business column. He often took pictures with famous people like Madonna and Paul McCartney.

In 1994, at 29, he became the editor of the News of the World. This made him the youngest national newspaper editor in over 50 years. He was known for getting big news stories.

He left the News of the World in 1995. This happened after the newspaper published photos that caused a complaint from the Press Complaints Commission.

Editor of the Daily Mirror

Piers Morgan became the editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper. In 1996, he apologized for a headline about a football match between England and Germany. He said it was meant as a joke, but some people found it offensive.

Under his leadership, the Daily Mirror tried to change its style. It focused less on celebrity gossip. However, the newspaper's sales went down.

Morgan was fired from the Daily Mirror in May 2004.

Phone Hacking Discussions

During his time as editor, there were discussions about phone hacking. This is when someone listens to private voicemail messages without permission.

In 2011, Piers Morgan said he had never hacked a phone himself. He also said he didn't know of any stories published from phone hacking.

However, a judge in 2023 found evidence that Morgan knew about phone hacking. The judge said Morgan was aware of it happening in the press. He even joked about it.

This topic is complicated, but it's important to know that courts have looked into it.

After the Daily Mirror

After leaving the Daily Mirror, Morgan helped launch First News in 2006. This was a weekly newspaper for children aged 7 to 14. He was the "editorial director" for the paper.

In 2014, he became an editor-at-large for the US part of the MailOnline website. He wrote several articles each week for them.

Television Career

Morgan in 2012

Piers Morgan started working in television even before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a BBC documentary series called The Importance of Being Famous.

He also co-hosted a show called Morgan and Platell on Channel 4. This show featured discussions with guests from different political viewpoints.

Talent Show Judge

From 2006 to 2011, Morgan was a judge on America's Got Talent on NBC. He was chosen by Simon Cowell for the role.

He also judged Britain's Got Talent on ITV from 2007 to 2010. He worked alongside Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell on this show.

Talk Shows and Documentaries

In 2008, Piers Morgan signed a big deal with ITV. This deal meant he would continue judging Britain's Got Talent and host new chat shows.

In 2009, he started hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV. On this show, he interviewed many famous people, including politicians like Gordon Brown.

From 2011 to 2014, he hosted Piers Morgan Live on CNN in the United States. This show replaced Larry King's famous talk show. The show was cancelled due to low viewing numbers. Morgan said that talking about guns in America was very unpopular for him as a British person.

From 2015 to 2021, Morgan was a main co-host on Good Morning Britain on ITV. He often had lively debates with his co-host Susanna Reid.

He also presented TV series like Killer Women with Piers Morgan and Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, where he interviewed people who had committed serious crimes.

Donald Trump

Piers Morgan won The Celebrity Apprentice in 2008. The host of the show was Donald Trump, who later became the US president. Trump called Morgan "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" but still named him the winner.

Morgan became a close friend of Donald Trump. He even predicted that Trump would win the 2016 US presidential election.

He interviewed Trump several times for ITV. Some people thought these interviews were too friendly.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan criticized Trump's handling of the crisis. He called some of Trump's ideas "batshit crazy." After this, Trump stopped following Morgan on Twitter.

After the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021, Morgan said Trump was "mentally unfit" to be president. He said he regretted his support for Trump.

In 2022, Morgan interviewed Trump again. Morgan told Trump he had lost the election fairly. Trump called Morgan a "fool" and walked out of the interview.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Piers Morgan was briefly friends with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. However, he said she stopped talking to him after she started dating Prince Harry. Since then, he has often criticized the couple.

In March 2021, after Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, Morgan said he doubted Meghan's claims about her mental health. This led to a heated argument on Good Morning Britain with his co-host Alex Beresford. Morgan then walked off the set and later quit the show.

Many people complained to Ofcom, the UK media watchdog, about Morgan's comments. Even Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, complained. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints, which was a record.

However, in September 2021, Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing. They said restricting Morgan's views would limit freedom of speech. Morgan called this a "victory for free speech."

In November 2023, Morgan revealed the names of two members of the Royal Family who were mentioned in a book about comments on Meghan's baby's skin color. This caused more discussion and controversy.

Ofcom Complaints

Piers Morgan's comments on Good Morning Britain often led to many complaints to Ofcom.

In 2020, he received over 1,000 complaints for comments that were seen as mocking the Chinese language.

His comments about Meghan Markle's mental health in 2021 led to the record-breaking 57,000 complaints. Despite this, Ofcom ruled in his favor, supporting freedom of speech.

Piers Morgan Uncensored

In 2021, News UK announced a new channel called TalkTV. Piers Morgan was the first big name to join. He started presenting Piers Morgan Uncensored in April 2022.

The first episodes included a new interview with Donald Trump. However, the show's audience numbers dropped significantly after the first week.

In 2023, Morgan won awards for his interview with famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo.

In February 2024, Morgan announced that Piers Morgan Uncensored would no longer be on TalkTV. Instead, it would be shown only on YouTube.

Personal Life

Piers Morgan married Marion Shalloe in 1991. They had three sons and later divorced in 2008.

In 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden. They have one daughter together. He lives in Kensington, London, and also has homes in East Sussex and Los Angeles.

Morgan is a big fan of the Premier League football club Arsenal. He often criticized the team's former manager, Arsène Wenger.

He has described himself as a centrist in politics. He voted against Brexit in the 2016 referendum.

In 2021, Morgan said he got COVID-19 even though he was fully vaccinated. He described having a strong fever and other symptoms.

Piers Morgan is of Irish Catholic background and has spoken about his Catholic faith.

Filmography

Television

Film

See also

In Spanish: Piers Morgan para niños