Whatever
Happened To...
STAR-BULLETIN / 1997
Maria Quiban, shown here on KHNL's news set in 1997, now works as a weather anchor and substitute news anchor for UPN 13 News in Los Angeles.
Former KHNL anchor
takes on new roles in L.A.Question: What ever happened to Maria Quiban, a weather anchor for a local Hawaii television station?
Answer: The former weather anchor for KHNL, the local NBC affiliate, left in 1998 to seek fame, fortune and a better life for her son in California.
The Aiea High School graduate is still forecasting the weather, though for a much bigger audience, as the weather anchor for UPN 13 News in Los Angeles. She had worked for Orange County News for two years before moving to UPN13 three years ago.
"It's been great. I do the 11 p.m. weather and fill in as a news anchor when they need me," Quiban said during a telephone interview recently.
Quiban also has been filling in on the "Best Damn Sports Show Ever" on the Fox Network Sports Channel. Her role there includes "spoofing" sports news.
Her late shift also allows her time to take roles in soap operas, sitcoms and other on-camera projects. One of her recent jobs was a part in the Clint Eastwood movie "Blood Work."
Quiban plays Gloria Torres, a murdered woman whose heart is transplanted into the body of Eastwood's character. The movie then revolves around Eastwood trying to solve her murder.
"It was really cool getting my brains blown out," she said about her movie gig. "They get splattered all over this liquor store."
When she's not on camera, Quiban said, she's studying for her meteorology degree from Mississippi State University through correspondence courses. She also plays the guitar for fun.
Quiban, a single mother with a teenage son, said she's most happy about her move to L.A. because it provides more opportunities for her son, Desmond. He is a sophomore at Los Alamitos High School and plays as a safety for the football team.
Quiban plans to return to Hawaii next month for a friend's baby shower and a short vacation on Molokai.
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