Alyona is one of the most notable rising media personalities who often appears on MSNBC, CNN weighing in on women's issues, politics and foreign news. Before joining HuffPost Live, Alyona hosted her own show, "The Alyona Show," on the international news network RT (formerly Russia Today). She was born in Moscow and is the daughter of Russian ice-skating champion Irina Rodnina, but grew up in the U.S. where she studied politics, film, and digital media at the University of California in Santa Cruz. In 2011, Alyona was named one of the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 media personalities. Show less «