Born May 31, 1967 in Christchurch, New Zealand, reality television personality Phil Keoghan was raised by his scientist father, John, and his mother, Beth, a music teacher. In the 1970s, his family moved to Antiqua in the Caribbean for eight years before he was sent back to Christchurch to attend boarding school at St. Andrew’s College. When he was 19 years old, Keoghan landed an apprenticeship as a television cameraman, leading him to work on various programs. It was while working on an adventure show that Keoghan’s life changed – he was scuba diving inside a shipwreck and got separated from his crew, leaving him lost 120 feet below the surface. Keoghan became disoriented and eventually blacked out – the last thing he remembered was thinking he was about to die. Next thing he knew, Keoghan was on the surface after being rescued by another diver. His near-death experience propelled a quest to live life to the extreme – he learned to water ski barefoot, broke the world bungee jumping record, scuba dived in the world’s longest underwater caves, and climbed to the top of an active volcano where he proceeded to dine on a four-star meal.As for his career, Keoghan jumped in front of the camera to host several New Zealand television series, including the long-running children’s show, “Spot On” (1973-1988). Keoghan eventually made his way across the Pacific to appear on American television, serving as a correspondent on “The Vicki Lawrence Show” (Fox, 1995-98), a morning talk show hosted by the famed “Carol Burnett” star. After a stint as a field correspondent on “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!” (CBS, 1999), a reality series adapted from a long-running British series, Keoghan landed his own show, “Phil Keoghan’s Adventure Crazy” (Travel Channel, 1998-2000), which allowed the adventurous host to journey to exotic locations and participate in various activities like scuba diving in Mexico, swinging on vines in Costa Rican jungles, and mountain biking through the Grand Canyon. Though he lost out at becoming the host of the mega-hit reality series, “Survivor” (CBS, 2000- ), Keoghan managed to secure stardom hosting “The Amazing Race” (CBS, 2001- ), a round-the-world adventure pitting 11 teams of two deciphering clues and performing tasks as they race from country to country for a large cash prize. The hit series earned multiple primetime Emmy Awards. While hosting over 12 seasons of “The Amazing Race,” Keoghan created his own series, “No Opportunity Wasted” (Discovery Channel, 2004-05), a reality series where he went door-to-door challenging people to realize their longstanding dreams in three days with just $3,000. The title of the show came from his self-help book, No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a List for Life, published in 2004.
