Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan is a former journalist and entertainment columnist turned television personality. He was the editor of the Daily Mirror for nine years, and is a judge on America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent

Biography / Timeline

1965 - Born Piers Stefan O'Meara (later changed his surname to Pughe-Morgan when his mother remarried) on 30 March 1965 to Vincent and Gabrielle O'Meara.

1991 - Marries Marrion Shalloe in July 1991. The couple will go on to have three children: Spencer William, Stanley Christopher and Albert Douglas.

1994 - Becomes editor of Sunday tabloid newspaper News Of The World, making him the youngest national newspaper editor in more than 50 years.

1995 - Became editor of the Daily Mirror.

2000 - Was investigated by the Press Complaints Commission when it emerged that he'd bought a large number of Viglen shares just before the Mirror's City Slickers column recommended them as a good buy.

2004 - Morgan is fired from the Mirror after allowing the publication of Iraq prisoner torture photographs which later turned out to be fakes.

2005 - Gains ownership of the Press Gazette with his partner Matthew Freud, a trade publication responsible for the British Press Awards. However, the takeover was an unpopular one, and many of the national newspapers cited it as a reason for boycotting the 2006 Press Awards.

2006 - Piers becomes a judge on America's Got Talent. He was apparently chosen by Simon Cowell because the restrictions in Cowell's American Idol contract prevented him appearing as a judge on the show.

2007 - Appears as a judge on Britain's Got Talent alongside Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden. Morgan also retains his role as a judge on the American version of the show.

2008 - Signs a two-year deal with ITV worth allegedly £2 million per year.

2009 - Begins a travelogue series titles Piers Morgan on... in which he visits major cities around the world. Morgan also begins a series of televised interviews with celebrity guests called Piers Morgan's Life Stories. He has interviewed celebrities such as Sharon Osbourne, Dannii Minogue and Katie Price following her divorce from Peter Andre.