Alumni Spotlight: Christine Nagy

WLTW morning personality and Montclair State alumna Christine Nagy would appreciate this quote from 19th century philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”  You see, Nagy’s outlook on life seems to parallel the famed American poet.  As she puts it, “Everything that happens in my life has been important and a wonderful journey, so I would never pinpoint any group of events. The great thing about life is that we always have an opportunity to further our knowledge and grow.”

If you were to review Christine’s life, you’d see she has indeed ridden many waves along the way.  She’s most notably known as a well respected radio personality, but that’s a fraction of her body of work.  Christine’s also a film and television actress, stage performer, highly successful voice over artist, animal activist, and humanitarian.

In case you haven’t read the resume, here’s the list.  Right out of college, Christine was hired by WNBC to do Shadow Traffic and the weather.  Following that, she cohosted mornings at Q104.3, when the station was known as New York’s “pure rock.”  Then, it was on to the morning zoo at Z100, where, for eight years, she reported on the news, entertainment, and provided commentary on current events. Nagy then moved to what was at the time a fledgling concept — Sirius XM satellite radio, where she hosted shows for the Martha Steward Channel.  Nowadays, you can hear Christine every weekday morning from 5:30 – 9 a.m. on WLTW.  She’s the Christine half of the “Bronson and Christine” show, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.  The show is also heard on stations across the country.  And, whatever spare time she has, Christine is also a highly sought after voice-over artist for commercials and industrials.

Her stage work has also been impressive.  Nagy received critical acclaim for her role as Tina in the off-Broadway production of “Tony and Tina’s Wedding,” where she performed the title role for two-years. And, let’s sprinkle in some comedy. Christine hosted her own comedy/dating show at Carolines on Broadway called “Hookin’ Up with Christine Nagy.”

A lesser person would have to stop to catch his or her breath!  Surely, there must be some inner force that drives Christine Nagy.  She jokingly responds, “Coffee and Dunkin Donuts.”  You can understand why.  Nagy’s up at 3 a.m. and at the station by 4:30 a.m., when she begins her day by writing the news, entertainment news, sports, traffic and weather.  Even though she’s off the air at 9 a.m. she prepares and records national feeds, answers emails, and updates her social media presence.

Despite the frenetic pace of her life, Christine is always careful to treat the people around her with professionalism, integrity and kindness.  “I’m genuinely interested in and caring about others and what they would like to say.  And, I’m lucky in that I’m a quick study, it’s easy for me to memorize things.

So, what filtering mechanism does Christine Nagy use to select all her projects?  “I live to do great work that touches my soul and reaches people.  Whether it is connecting with people on The Bronson and Christine Show, doing charity work with animal rescue shelters, being a loyal friend or living a life of gratitude. That is my inner compass that is what I’m about.”

Despite having rubbed elbows with Howard Stern, Elvis Duran, and Jim Kerr, the person Christine credits for being the biggest personal and professional influence on her life was her mother.  “Her beauty, kindness, strength and grace has made me the woman that I am today.”

In 2008, Christine was awarded by Montclair State University with the Leonardis Distinguished Alumni Award.  She returns the compliment.  “I believe it was the synergy of great classes and great teachers that gave me a solid educational foundation to take over the world!”

What does the future hold for the versatile Ms. Nagy.  She states “I’m more interested in totally living and loving each professional opportunity and having fun.  Specifically, Christine is currently working with Anthony Ciccotelli, who wrote and directed, “The Dance.”  The two are collecting material from playwrights to do a festival called “Chance.”  As Christine describes it, “All the one acts revolve around love, fate and destiny.  There are so many incredibly talented playwrights that the world doesn’t know about yet and we want to shed some light on them.  We will be announcing NYC and NJ dates and locations very soon.” 

According to Ciccotelli, "Christine is a true gem of a person, as talented as she is kind.  She is one of those rare human beings who always carries herself with grace.  Her work as a theater artist and a producer of new work is inspiring and tremendous.   She truly cares about these new voices in the theater and she is helping them come to light.  If there has never been a patron saint to playwrights maybe it’s time we name her."

Here’s a word of advice for anyone who wants to keep pace with the busy Christine Nagy.  Keep your surf board well waxed.